Just like people, pets know when they love the only child lifestyle, or when a sibling or two would fill life with more adventures.
When Keely and Alex’s dog, Hudson, found himself away from his four-legged uncle, he found that being spoiled was great. But he knew something was missing. His fur parents realized Hudson needed the type of attention he could only get from another canine friend, so they started looking.
The couple of meetings with other adoptables didn’t work out. But they didn’t give up. They knew somewhere out there, the perfect dog would find them.
Ruby ended up in the care of the Nova Scotia SPCA at the Yarmouth Shelter in the Spring of 2023. But when months passed and she was still waiting for her loving home, she was moved to the Kings Shelter.
And what a good decision that was.
Because one day in July 2023, when Keely and Alex were browsing the Nova Scotia SPCA adoption page, Ruby’s big smile popped up.
“From her information, she seemed like she would be a perfect fit for us,” Keely remembered. “We went one day to see her. She loved me immediately. She was extremely timid and skittish at first, but once she realized I was safe and she could trust me, she clung to me.”
Ruby was a little more cautious with Alex as she was cautious around men, but the couple knew that with a lot of patience, love and work, her confidence would only go up from there. About their second visit, Keely said, “We brought her a stuffed toy, a Build-A-Bear we had for our current dog Hudson, so she could have ours and his scents with her while we arranged a meet with Hudson before they allowed us to officially adopt her.” 
After what the staff called one of the greatest meetings between the two dogs, Ruby and her new family left the Kings Shelter, a little nervous, but very excited and ready for a new start.
A start that Ruby decided she wasn’t going to take too much time to get used to. She settled in as soon as she got home, making the place hers instantaneously. “My husband slept with her separately for a week before we integrated her into our bedtime with Hudson. That allowed her to bond with Alex, as previously said, she was extremely timid and unsure of men. He said she slept so deeply that night, he had to make sure she was still alive, he shook her to wake her, and she was so deeply asleep she wouldn’t wake up,” Keely said.
Despite that, Ruby took a little while to realize her new home was there to stay. When I interviewed Keely, she told me, “For a few weeks, I do think she thought we would bring her back. Every time we got in the car, she would look at us like her heart was breaking. That finally abated, though.”
And her fur siblings helped a lot. The couple raved about Ruby and how easily she fell in love with the cats in the home, how motherly she is with them, and how she and Hudson became BFFs immediately. “We started to integrate her into our world of off-leash walks in the wilderness, beach days and exploring the Maritimes. She is a fantastic exploration adventure dog,” they continued.
In two years, Ruby has come a long way, and her full personality has come out. Her fur parents took a DNA test, and the results were as expected. They described it as 49% German Shepherd stage 5 clinger, 33% Maremma and 18% Great Pyrenees.
One moment, she would make friends with other animals, herd her brother, Hudson, while he plays fetch, snooze on the back deck, sit in a chair like a human, enjoy a beach day, love all foods she’s allowed to eat, car rides, and be with her humans. 
Other times, the zoomies start, preferably with a stick in her mouth, she tries to counter surf, dig holes where she can, and in true sibling fashion, show her brother who is in charge.
Keely talked about where they’ve taken Ruby so far and some of their favourite things to do together. “Hiking, adventuring, we aren’t originally from this area (military couple!), so we love exploring the 
province and falling more in love with it. We also took her to New Brunswick, PEI, Quebec, and Ontario. She is also the BEST cuddler, she doesn’t believe she’s 90lbs, she in fact thinks she’s a lap dog. She would crawl inside of us if she could. If she doesn’t get enough love and affection, she will promptly sit her butt down in front of or beside you and put her paw on you repeatedly. If you still ignore her, she will bark! She’s so quirky.”
But all these amazing times took time, patience and love from all sides. The couple highlighted how much research they have done to understand Ruby’s breed and to understand her.
Their advice? “Do your research, it is so important to know every and all of the information needed in these situations. You need to know the animal’s needs, feeding, exercise requirements, intelligence levels and potential health concerns, breed-related or otherwise.” 
“Patience is key, especially when adopting a shelter animal. As they learn your routine and grow a bond, you will see the reward from your choice, the exponential love and happiness that they will give back to you, despite the hardships they may have faced,” they continued.
We could have talked about Ruby and her siblings for hours. And it was easy to realize through every word that Keely and Alex are, as they put it, obsessed with their fur babies.
Ruby’s living an amazing life full of love. She receives it and offers it back in the way she likes – by being everyone’s mother, babying the cats, cleaning them and protecting them. Hudson, too, when he allows it.
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Just like Ruby, other furry friends across the province are looking for their loving home. And you can find out more about them on our adoption page.