A black lab mix given a forever home after almost 10 years at the Animal Refuge Center
The devotion of one man over a three-week period captivated a black lab mix’s trust and companionship, forever changing both of their lives.
Larry Denmark took Bean home on Friday after the dog spent nine years, 10 months and 11 days at the Animal Refuge Center in North Fort Myers.
“We are immensely happy for Bean. She is a large dog and is going on 12. I hope and pray every day she is one of those large breed dogs that makes it to 14, or 15. I absolutely know she knows how loved she is at the shelter; (the volunteers) treat her like she is their own. She finally gets homegrown again and to someone that is clearly committed to her is fantastic,” ARC Board President Wayne Leinen said.
Denmark said he lost his black lab a little more than two months ago. It was his fourth.
“I adopted my first one 26 years ago from the Humane Society,” he said, learning that black dogs — specifically big black dogs — are the hardest dogs to find homes for.
That bit of information began a tradition.
After going through the grieving period for his latest lab, he began thinking about welcoming a new companion into his life.
“I just started looking. I thought about ARC, so I looked, and they had a picture of Bean. I filled out their online application, and they called me and said ‘Do you want to come meet her,'” Denmark said, adding that was about three weeks ago.
Kurt Donovan, an ARC staff member, took Denmark back to see Bean for the first time.
“She charged the fence, and she would have eaten me if she could have gotten through,” Denmark said.
That did not scare him away but had the opposite reaction. He continued to visit her and Bean continued to bark at Denmark, which only resulted in him reiterating to Bean “You don’t scare me.”
“We talked a lot,” he said, laughing. “She had been better. She had gotten to where she didn’t bark as much. I still had not gone into her yard. I would sit outside of the fence and sit in a little camping chair that they gave me. I sit out there and talk to her and give her treats.”
Bean began sitting by the fence, but with her back to Denmark.
“That’s when she began to trust. She still wasn’t ready. Last Friday she came up and was rubbing against the fence, so she wanted to be petted,” he said.
The next day he went into her yard and leashed her to take Bean for their first walk.
On Sunday, he returned. This time he followed Bean into her air-conditioned house and sat on her bed, while Bean was on the floor.
“She got up, came right over and laid down next to me and was kissing me,” Denmark said.
The daily visits paid off and created a bond. From then, when Bean heard Denmark talking to the other dogs along the way to see her, she would crawl out from under her house where she dug a hole.
“She knows that dad is coming,” Denmark said, smiling.
The first task the new pair had after leaving ARC Friday afternoon was to take a bath and then help her get settled into her new home.
“I have already set back up the dog dishes, the table that I have for her and got three beds – one in my office. She has places to go. I felt today would be a great day to bring her home because I will be home all weekend. She will have a little bit of stress in a new house. She has been here (ARC) and it’s all she knows. Whatever happened before she got here affected her. It has taken time for everybody to make friends with her. But this is all she knows. Now she’s going into a strange place, I will be here this weekend, so everything that might be a little stressor for her, I will be there to settle her down,” Denmark said.
About four years ago, he built a pool with a beach entry with six inches of water, which he said Bean will love, as well as the shaded areas in the backyard.
“I can’t wait to do this. It is going to be so much fun,” Denmark said. “She is so loving. There are people here that describe her as a Velcro dog. She comes up to me and starts rubbing against me.”
He said he personally does not believe there are any bad dogs. Denmark said it just takes time – people need to just give a little more time to connect with their dog.
Leinen said Bean was surrendered by her owner in April 2012 with the explanation that they had too many animals. She was adopted shortly after she was surrendered, but was found running loose by the county and ARC was called upon again.
“I went and picked her up. We never got any sort of reply from the people that were supposed to give her a home,” Leinen said.
The tall lanky girl is standoffish, and a little touchy, if she does not know someone.
“But when she gets to know you, (and you’ve) taken the time to get to know her, she is the most affectionate dog we have had out there,” he said. “She’s very sweet.”
Bean is 11 years, 8 months old and has some orthopedic problems, as her hips are starting to give her problems. This is why Denmark is doing a foster arrangement, Leinen said. The medicine costs, and potential of orthopedic surgery someday, could be cost-prohibitive to someone who wants to adopt Bean.
“It’s better to go out to foster,” Leinen said, as ARC provides free medical care through the shelter, medication, food and surgery. “All the foster has to do is love her and keep her safe.”
Animal Refuge Center
ARC being a no kill shelter and all of their animals have a safety net for life. Leinen thought Bean would be one of those dogs who would live out her life at ARC because of her age and her quirky nature.
“Because of Larry she is actually going to go to a home. She will come back to us for check-ups, and meds,” he said, adding that it will give ARC staff and volunteers an opportunity to visit with her during her appointments. “This dog has been with us for nearly 10 years and is finally getting a home because someone is willing to spend time with her and learn to trust. She is going to reap the rewards.”
ARC has about 300 animals – mostly cats, and about 75 dogs – with them currently. Leinen said it is much easier to house cats together with roughly 40 cats per building. There are 11 cat buildings right now.
As far as dogs, there are 39 dog lodges. If dogs can be paired together, they are, but most have their own space.
“No animal will ever be let go to make space for others. You have a home for life. If you don’t happen to like other members of your species, you get a lodge to yourself,” Leinen said.
There are currently four to seven surrender requests a day in the last three to four months. The reasons run the gamut from moving and cannot take the animal with them, to “I adopted an animal during COVID and I’m now going back to work.”
With that said, adoptions have been pretty steady recently as well.
ARC began in 1988 and has been at the current location for 20 something years. It originally began at Page Field in one of the hangers, as more of a spay and neuter operation, which evolved into 22-1/2 acres in North Fort Myers, at 18011 Old Bayshore Road.
“We expand as we are able and the funding is available,” Leinen said.
For more information about ARC, or to make a donation, visit animalrefugecenter.com.