Meet Dom, the newest rescue pet of Sacramento partner Carley Roberts and her husband, Jeremy. You may remember the Roberts’ other pets, which were featured as Pet of the Month in March and in our April Fool’s edition of the SALT Shaker.
Carley recently was heading home from work late in the evening, and as she entered the freeway, she came upon a large, Pit Bull-ish looking dog running at top speed in the lanes of traffic. Cars were whizzing by him without a care, so Carley rolled down her window, pulled to the side of him, and began talking to the clearly scared pup, hoping he might slow his stride. As the dog, who is now known as Dom, began slowing down, Carley swerved to protect him as another car impatiently tried to cut around her. She then drove ahead of Dom, continuing to swerve back and forth until all traffic was at a standstill. Once at a stop in the road, Carley opened her doors and encouraged Dom to hop in. As he approached, he stopped about 10 feet in front of her, lowered his head, and stared, showing no trace of emotion. Now eye-to-eye with what was clearly a 100-plus pound Pit Bull, for a split second Carley questioned the wisdom of her judgment, but knew she was doing the right thing and continued to sweetly encourage Dom to jump in her car. Thankfully he did, hopping into the driver’s seat and then into the backseat.
As she drove away, Carley became acutely aware that she was 40 miles from home and had invited into her car a very large dog with unknown propensities (aside from the freshly sprayed skunk aroma that he donned!). As a safety measure in case Dom became aggressive in his unfamiliar surroundings, Carley stretched her right arm tightly over the passenger seat gripping the headrest with her hand in an effort to serve as a temporary barrier that would (hopefully) allow her enough time to pull safely to the side of the road in the event Dom became aggressive. Much to the contrary, Dom, still heaving from his running, shifted forward, resting his head on top of Carley’s hand, revealing his sweet nature and longing for affection. Carley scratched his head the rest of the way home and assured Dom that he was going to be just fine.
Badly beat up from his life on the streets, Carley made sure Dom received medical attention after bringing him home and located the original owner, who had no interest in being reunited with Dom. Since then, Carley and Jeremy have welcomed Dom into their home and are absolutely smitten with the sweet pup. Despite his size and intimidating looks, the other animals are sure to remind Dom that he is still at the bottom of the pecking order as the newest addition to the family. Seven-pound miniature border collie, Tanq, who was previously the newest family member, especially enjoys bossing around the much-larger Dom. Dom is growing more comfortable with his home and new family every day, and he is thrilled to be the Pet of the Month!