Meet Engelbert and his unusual family! Engelbert’s adoption story is quite wonderful and so is the home he ended up in. Engelbert was languishing in a shelter when his dad, Steve, first saw him. Steve was at the shelter to get another dog, but that dog had already adopted so he went around the facility again and that’s when he spotted Engelbert.
Engelbert had a long list of health problems, but Steve knew that if he didn’t take him, no one else would.
“If you don’t know his story, he was abused by his previous owner and taken by the shelter,” Steve writes of Engelbert. “He had been kept as an outside dog, through the winter. He had frostbite on both ears which had to be trimmed off and he has neurological issues. His back legs don’t work properly, but he’s an unbelievably strong little dog. The love this dog gives is intense. I will catch him just staring at me like he can’t believe his good fortune. I feel the same.”
Engelbert arrived at his new home and was welcomed into the family of 6 dogs, one pig, cat, rabbit and other animals. Plus one human.
All of Steve’s animals are rescues and as you will see from the following photos, all are adorably loving and get along with one another.
Engelbert’s dad smiles to himself when people ask him why he’s not married. He comments, “I should just show them this picture,” he comments. Mind you, two of the dogs are not his. He was dog sitting at the time. Still…that’s quite the pack!
Engelbert is only 5 pounds but is the biggest personality in the house.
This is how Englebert likes to be carried.
Isn’t Engelbert adorable? As Steve says, you can find an Englebert of your own waiting for you at your local shelter.
One of Engelbert’s friends is Phyllis. Phyllis has been blind for a very long time. “But she definitely sees that she is loved.”
This is Edna. She’s a 12-year-old Bichon mix that her owners gave up because they didn’t have time for her. “She has a couple medical problems but they are completely treatable. A week before this picture was taken she was on a cement floor, in a cage, in a shelter,” Steve says. “She wouldn’t even look up. I heard of her situation…and I had been watching, hoping someone would adopt her but that didn’t happen. She lives with me now. She’s a wonderful dog.”
The dogs don’t mind posing for pictures for their dad. “I don’t know. I saw a bunch of empty pots. I saw a bunch of little dogs running around. One thing led to another.”
Bikini the pig isn’t always as cooperative though. Bikini was a bit peeved at dad when he went on vacation without her and decided she wasn’t going to cooperate with the family reunion photo. She was okay again when it was snack time.
With all the animals in the house, finding a comfy spot to relax can be a real challenge. It’s hard to find an unoccupied dog bed. That’s why Eeyore makes his own with Enoch.
Stuart and Bikini get first dibs on the favorite chair in the house. “I can’t even begin to count the number of animals and humans that have been on this chair. It’s the least aesthetically pleasing piece of furniture that I have. No fancy designer, no clean lines, and the material is, well…it’s durable. But every night, 1 by 1 we all end up here.”
Their dad doesn’t know what Engelbert and Enoch are discussing, “but they seem to be in agreement” with one another.
Is there a better way to carry a 5 lb Chihuahua (Engelbert) and a fat little rabbit (Stuart)?
Englebert and Phyllis put on their bath time faces. “The faces of bath time desperation and resignation,” says their dad.
Steve writes, “Like a good waiter I’ve learned to carry more and make fewer trips.”
Englebert, Loretta, Eeyore, Edna, Madeline, Hercules (visiting) Ignatius, Phyllis, and Enoch know how to celebrate the holidays in style.
Edna, Englebert, Eeyore, Loretta, and Stuart the rabbit hang out together a lot. Stuart “doesn’t seem to know he’s a rabbit and they don’t seem to know he’s a rabbit, so it works out well.”
Enoch gets loved on by Bikini and doesn’t know what to make of it.
Englebert is always prepared for going out.
Like the time his dad snuck him into Whole Foods.
Loretta and Enoch look out for one another. They hate the leaf blower and even though dad did not have it on for 1/2 hour, they weren’t taking any chances.
Englebert and Eeyore take care of each other too. “I think of them as war buddies. In their own way they have each survived the battles leading up to and within the shelters,” writes Steve. “I personally believe that helps bond the animals I have rescued. They know, they remember, and they live on.”
Stuart is comfortable hanging out with the pack. Whether it’s “on the couch hanging out with the dogs watching a movie” or “running around the yard with some old chickens”.
Loretta, Eeyore and Englebert get a cool duffel bag to travel in. But most times they use their own 4 legs.
Family time includes going for walks and time outdoors together.
What an awesome pack! As to why Steve got involved with caring for so many animals, he offered this insight when he commented on one of his Instagram photos. “When I was younger I never realized you could form a measurable connection with a rabbit, chickens, a pigeon, …a pig. But as I got older, I took the time, I allowed those things to happen. My life is better now.”
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