Later that month he was adopted by Rose & George English and what followed afterward has been a learning experience for both human AND dog. This poor dog stood in a corner - shook and drooled all over himself panting in fear for almost three solid days. He was terrified of steps, chairs and almost anything indoors that we humans take for granted on a daily basis. The frustration of trying to adjust to his new home was a difficult transition for both Rose and the dog. One evening she sat down, held him and "had a good cry". She told him through her tears as she held him that he would never be be hungry, or cold or be mistreated and neglected again. "It was like a light bulb went on. I KNOW he understood me, because almost within an hour he had turned into a 'different dog'," Rose says. "You could actually see an effort that he was trying to work through his fears. The shaking stopped, and that was truly the turning point for both of us. I have never experienced that with any of the fosters we have had here." Somehow, the tough guy name "Brando" just didn't seem to fit. Rose felt he still needed a tough guy name - but one with a softer side. Brando became Bogart - hence; "Bogey, The Bogster, Bogey Bear & The Bogus".
Bogey gradually found his place in the English household and has since become very comfortable and well adjusted. He plays well with his younger fur sister Shani (a 2 yr old Westie), and seems to not be threatened by his older fur brother Homeless (a 14 yr old Cairn mix). Other than an occasional sibling rivalry tiff between the boys, the three dogs get along well and are usually found less than 10 feet from each other.
It took almost six weeks of dedication, but Bogey finally mastered stairs. Rose had these made so that he could climb up in the window seat along with Shani (who would just jump up from a chair) and she really feels they helped build his confidence and helped him get over the fear of the carpeted steps inside their home, and the two flights of deck stairs the dogs sometimes use when let out into the back yard from the upper level. "He was especially fearful of the deck stairs because like most - they are open. I started out just carrying him up and down the stairs. His body would be real tense when I held him from fear. Then we graduated to me setting him down on maybe the third from the top with my hands on both sides of his back so he knew I was there. He was very clumsy at first, but he tried - and eventually he mastered them. Now, when it is time to go outside he is usually the first one out!" Rose has said. Most recently, Bogey has developed an interest in television. Any television, and almost any station will do. Of course Animal Planet remains his favorite, but he is also fond of Trading Spaces, What Not To Wear, and Sesame Street. He and Rose's grand-daughter, Bailey have become great TV watching pals, and word has it that Bailey now prefers Animal Planet to cartoons.
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If Bogey walks into a room where there is a television, he will sit down in front of it and wait patiently for it to "turn on". "It is the most hysterical thing I have ever seen - and yet it also tugs at your heartstrings," his Mommy says. "He has turned into a great companion and a wonderful dog. In my heart I know this dog takes nothing for granted and is truly thankful for each day he wakes up safe and warm. He is four-legged proof of 'the miracle of rescue' and how the dedication of loving people involved with the organization can turn a dogs' life around. Bogey knows where he belongs now. Its' not in a pen, or a cage fighting over a drink of water. It is next to me on his 'puppy blanket' watching late night TV".