Baloo Niles’s Success Story

Baloo, now called Leo, has put the “L” into LOVE.

The moment he entered his family’s home, he not only made their lives happy and complete, he made his brother, Walter, his new best friend. In fact, Leo and Walter LOVE running around together all day, never grow tired of wrestling, and even love playing together on the bed! Leo, for his part, thrives on long trail walks, visits to the dog park and the beach, and invigorating games of fetch.

As highly food motivated as he is happily energetic, he also loves when his mom fills a Kong with treats, going to his cage and sitting there until he’s eaten all of them. Not quite content to stop there, he walks carefully around her while she’s cooking because he knows he isn’t supposed to be in the kitchen … but he’s waiting for some food.

Famous for his cuddles, Leo is equally famous for his hugs. He comes over to his mom, stands on his hind legs, put his paws around her and gives her kisses. In the evenings, he especially enjoys sitting with his parents (he insists on sitting on top of them) to watch TV, and as his mom’s self-designated “protector,” he goes to her side of the bed, pokes her face when she’s having a nightmare, and gently wakes her up.

Ever the prankster, when Leo first moved in, he would take the silverware from his parents’ plates after they’d eaten if they didn’t put it into the sink right away. Then he would go outside to the large tree in their backyard, lick the silverware and hide it behind the tree. One day, when his parents were cleaning the backyard, his mom went behind the tree and discovered all of their missing silverware! Leo knew he’d been caught because as she approached his cage, his look of “I’m in trouble” was adorable.