Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

When My Fellow Ain’t So Mellow

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Sampson is one of the most well-rounded, easy going, laid back dogs I’ve ever met.   We took the time when he was younger to socialize him and expose him to as many things as possible.

We have a very quiet home life which I think is a big contributor to why he is such a mellow fellow.

Typically Sampson loves to have company over, but I do notice after a certain amount of time on the holidays, my mellow fellow will start chewing on a toy, or licking his paws.  That’s when I can tell he’s had enough.  If the party is still in full swing, I’ll lead him to the bedroom and settle him down, allowing him the peace and quiet he loves so well.

Despite our best efforts to expose him to as many situations as possible, we can’t expose him to all.

I found this out last week, just before I went on vacation.

The phone rang at the office and it was my mom.  Something was beeping upstairs, did I know what it might be?

Well there is a smoke alarm up there.  But this was not the slow, methodical chirp of a smoke alarm with a low battery, nor was it the piercing, continuous screech of the “oh shit I burned the dinner” alarm.

Yes, it was piercing and yes it was methodical as I could hear as soon as she opened the door to the upstairs.

The other sound I heard was the frantic and labored panting of a dog in distress.

Sampson was freaking out.  And I was five minutes away and all alone in the office.

As soon as Sampson saw my mom, he knew his savior had arrived.  Unfortunately, she couldn’t comfort him and in the process of trying, he scratched up her arm (she’s on Coumadin and her skin is very thin) he also tried to climb into her lap and in the process he stepped on her foot.

What could I do?  I waited a few minutes hoping someone would come back to the office, but when no-one did, I locked the door and flew home.

My mom couldn’t disable the smoke detector, so I pulled it off the wall and pulled the battery.  I took Sampson and Delilah outside, away from the source of the noise and let them relieve themselves.  I brought them back inside, urged them to have a bit of water and then I had to get back to work.  I felt horrible leaving them, but there was no-one at the office and I had to go back.

As soon as I had someone in the office, I went back home and grabbed Sampson and Delilah and brought them to the office with me.  After about fifteen minutes, lying beside my desk, then and only then did my big guy settle down.

I like the quiet life.

I like that peaceful, easy feeling.

It was a heart-wrenching experience both for my mom and me to watch Sampson panic like that.  Thankfully my mom is on the mend and I think we both learned valuable lessons from the experience.  Not the least of which (for me anyway) is no matter how much you think you’ve prepared your dog, you can’t prepare them for everything.

Welcome to Thursday’s Barks and Bytes Blog hop hosted by 2 Brown Dogs and Heart Like a Dog.

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Heart Like a Dog

Doggie Doo

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Have you been to a toy store recently?

Typically when I shop in a toy store I have a specific item I’m looking for for my grandchildren.  I go into the store, head right to the specific area, grab what I need and turn around and head right back out.

That all changed last Friday when my sister and I took our four-year-old niece shopping for her birthday.

My sister was looking for games to play with our niece in our hotel room, which is how I came across this.

The dog is smiling because he feels ten pounds lighter after taking a major dump.

The dog is smiling because he feels ten pounds lighter after taking a major dump.

I stood in the aisle at Toys R Us

What the fuck is wrong with people?

What the fuck is wrong with people?

I couldn’t control myself, I knew it was wrong but it was like my hands were being controlled by something other than my mind.  I picked up the game and turned it over.

Let's see what the game description says.

Let’s see what the game description says.

Feed and walk your little pup.  When he makes a mess you clean it up!

My best guess was the ‘game’ involved feeding the dog something along the lines of play doh which would then come out the other end.

Once again it was like my fingers were detached from my brain.  I youtubed it.

GAH it’s even worse than I thought!  Do you see the excited looks and the clapping that’s going on? How about the joy on their faces as they pump that little handle and point at his doggy ass?

Do you think that will change the first time they stoop down to pick up a real doggy ass bomb?  Or the first time the bag breaks and they juggle dog doo with their bare hands?

I know, I know, it’s teaching responsible dog ownership, but seriously folks, I think you’re pitching this product to the wrong age group.

As all this rushed through my mind I happened to glance over at the game right next to Doggie Doo.

Honestly, what kind of messages are we teaching our children?

Honestly, what kind of messages are we teaching our children?

I stuck my hands in my pocket and walked away.

I’m Biased Towards Certain People

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I hate traveling.  Mostly it’s because I hate flying.  But there’s another reason as well.  Through the ‘magic’ of Facebook, and the era of ‘instant’ media we live in, I hear a lot about how animals are (mis)treated in other areas of the country/world.  While I know all of my readers are wonderful pet owners no matter where you live, I’m biased about certain areas of the country and one of those areas is the south.

And last week I went to Florida.

Overheard at a children’s party:

Two women were discussing their dogs and how one woman’s (woman #1) son had questioned the other woman (woman #2) about her dog.  Turns out they both had the same breed of dog.  A blue nosed pit.

Woman #1 pulled up a picture of her dog on her phone and woman #2 immediately asked, “Is she spayed?”

Woman #1 responded, “Yes, we got her from the pound.”

Disappointed woman #2 responded that her dog was male, and still a puppy.

And in my mind, I immediately jumped to, she wants to breed that dog.  She’s a back yard breeder who wants to make money from her dog.

See, I told you I was biased.

How do you stop yourself from jumping to that conclusion?

Sometimes the universe provides the answer.

On that same trip, I was visiting with some friends (who are wonderful, responsible pet owners) where I was introduced to and fell in love with Bailey.

Bailey is about five years old.  Until recently she lived on an 80 acre farm where she hunted armadillos, snakes, and many other types of small game.  Sadly she was also unprotected from fleas, ticks and mosquitoes.

When my friends rescued Bailey from a relative of theirs, she was covered in fleas and ticks, and she had heart worm and tape worms as well.  I’m sure you all know that dogs and cats with fleas can easily become infected with tape worms.

My friends treated Bailey for the fleas, ticks and worms and gave her a good home, where she is spoiled rotten.

A real “Daddy’s Girl” Bailey is so attached to her Dad that when he was in the hospital recently, she ran through the house searching for him.  Trying to help Bailey feel safe, the mom held the phone up to her ear so she could hear Daddy, but instead of helping, it left Bailey running around the house, crying and searching for her dad.

Thankfully my friend is home and all is right in Bailey’s world once again.

Meet Bailey.

Bailey

My friends also found a feral cat and her kittens, nursed them, found homes for all of them and had the mama spayed.

It is people like my friends and others like them, that help restore my faith in humanity.

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