Otto Grayson is HOME

I’m beautiful in my way
‘Cause God makes no mistakes
I’m on the right track, baby I was born this way”

Otto touched so many lives during his journey with the rescue from his first foster Mom with whom he loved to watch Ellen in the afternoons, to his vacation foster Mom who rushed him to the vet twice when he collapsed from hypoglycemia (she aged two years during his 10-day stay) to his Instagram famous foster family, @PudgethePit who had lost their namesake Pudge but found joy in showing Otto all “the stuff” as he aged and blossomed.  For a tiny dog, Otto sure spreads the love from his big heart.Otto’s resilience and fortitude endeared him to each family, he is a miracle at 1lb, 11 ounces, 6 months and 2 weeks old, he does all the stuff and then some.  He is intelligent, loves playing brain games, going for buggy rides in the fresh air, sleeping in his foster mom’s sports bra, meeting new people, running, barking, wrestling with his duckie’s. Otto eats and drinks on his own, telling you when he doesn’t like something.  He loves other dogs and can converse and interact through his x-pens, but that’s as far as his relationships can go, in this situation size does matter.

Otto’s size dictated what type of home he could live safely and the restrictions of protecting him eliminated many from the get-go.  Including his foster homes where big dogs roamed freely and Otto lived behind x-pen walls.  We knew the risk of him being crushed was high and not one any of us wanted to test.  Mistakes happen, gates left open, dogs pushing over x-pens wanting to play, young children wanting to play with the tiny dog, not realizing what a fragile body or head he has.  Otto is loved by all of us, but not meant to be with any of us. The truth is being on high alert 24/7 for Otto is exhausting and taxing on all parts of your life.  As his foster Mom Melissa said, “Otto is a lifestyle”.

We created an application just for him as he presented more challenges than the average dog.  We posted it and awaited for the applications to stream in and for candidates to be interviewed and screened.

A week went by and he only had one application and that one was sent through our regular adoption channels.  Otto returned to my home to wait out the search for a perfect match.  A week went by and then I received a text from Melissa that a friend had just met Otto and wanted to apply.  I sent the link to Melissa to pass along and then within 24 hours, Otto had his first application.  It would turn out to be the only application he needed.

Tonight Otto began the next step in his journey, he is now officially home, with a loving family where he has a college-aged sister, high school-aged brother, and Mom.  Otto will go to work with Mom daily, he has his own x-pen spot set up in her office complete with teepee and toys.

Wherever Mom goes, Otto will be with her and when his brother is home, he will be right by his side.  The two have bonded over a matter of hours.  Otto showed no hesitation in meeting his new family and curled right up in their arms against their chests; his favorite cuddling position.

Otto has a pen with teepee and toys in his Mom’s bedroom, in the living room and the one at work.  He really is royalty, all his needs for safety are being met and his family couldn’t love him more if they tried.  As his Mom said this evening, “who rescued who” is appropriate in describing their love affair.

I could not be happier for Otto and his family.  He is going to have a wonderful life with them, never wanting for anything and more importantly, loved beyond measure in every moment of every day.

The extra cool part is that Otto will see foster parents Melissa and John daily, be able to visit Madison, Matthew and of course Winston his best friend.

Otto’s brother Grant will be taking over his Instagram page, he will try to post once a week to keep Otto’s fans updated on his life.  They aren’t into social media and it wasn’t a requirement for adoption.  No doubt Melissa will still post an update or two on Otto from her daily visits with him when she isn’t posting lots of adorable Kane photos and videos.  I am sure Winston and Lefty will welcome the little guy into the family and help teach him all the stuff.

“Once a K9EI dog, always a K9EI dog”, we will continue to work on finding the right equipment for Otto to have wheels as a backup and be there for him & his family no matter what comes his way in the future.

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