Dante the Devil Dog

Dante (formerly Vader) made his way to HHDR from Texas in June 2015 via our rescue partners. He was just a stray coming to CNY in search of a second chance. Meanwhile his future Mom-to-be had just started volunteering at HHDR the month prior and was keeping her eye out for a special pup. She met Dante on her first transport and adopted him the next day!

We are happy to share a pupdate about this handsome guy, who is affectionately known as Dante the Devil Dog. He has a great life with his forever Mom. He loves running, playing fetch, playing Frisbee, and going for car rides. He also likes to catch and steal the balls when playing ladder golf.  Right now he is busy supervising Mom as she works from home during the stay-home order. Social distancing is ruff for Dante because he is a very social dog. He loves meeting people and “convincing” them to play with him. You may recognize Dante from the cover of our 2018 HHDR calendar.

Dante’s Mom says he has always been a work in progress, but she loves the challenging dogs. They do a lot of training, and Dante is always ready to learn something new. He is very smart and athletic, and he knows many commands and tricks. He understands “kiss” and “sit” in both English and Italian. He is working on learning more commands in Italian. Dante learned how to catch a Frisbee in 3 tries. He also taught himself how to turn on the hose nozzle so that he can try to catch the water. He's very agile and can catch almost anything that's thrown to him. He can walk on his hind legs and sit up straight.

Dante and his Mom lean on each other for support. Shortly after Dante was adopted, Mom’s father passed away. It was the most difficult time of Mom’s life, and Dante helped her through it. He laid by her side and licked her tears. He forced Mom to get out and moving when she didn’t feel up to it. Mom said she is eternally grateful for Dante’s companionship and love. We know Dante feels the same way, and we are so happy they found each other.

We appreciate your support in helping dogs like Dante find a “new leash on life!”