Today’s post is about a dog named Murphy. Murphy is a yellow lab who sometimes goes to daycare with Sampson and Delilah.
When I first met Murphy I thought she was about seven or eight years old. Why? Because Murphy looks like she is much older. For one thing, she has that spread that a lot of labs get in their later years. 🙁
Murphy’s mom (K) absolutely adores Murphy, so she denies her nothing. K told me that Murphy only gets one cup of kibble twice per day, but her problem is the treats. When Murphy comes to K for food, K gives her treats.
K and her husband are both older folks, I can’t guess people’s ages anymore but I would say K is somewhere in her 60’s. K has absolutely no control over Murphy because Murphy has K wrapped around her tail.
About 6 weeks ago I found out K had been cited for not keeping Murphy under control.
When I ran into K at daycare she told me what happened. K was walking Murphy and she saw a woman with a dog approaching. She could tell by the ‘look of the dog’ it was a pit bull, and she is terrified of pit bulls, so she froze.
The approaching woman sensed her panic and said, “Perhaps we should cross the street,” which she did.
As the woman and her dog crossed the street, K isn’t really sure what happened but Murphy took off after and bit the other dog. So K got a ticket and was warned about Murphy’s aggression.
I always want to be respectful of other people and their dogs, so I said, “Can I be honest with you?”
“Oh yes, of course” was her response.
I outright told her that Murphy is overweight and perhaps because she is overweight she doesn’t feel well. K acknowledged Murphy was overweight and that is when she told me her problem with treats.
We discussed K bringing Murphy to our Thursday night drop in obedience class, so K could get some help with managing Murphy.
K said she would try to get Murphy to class but they only have one car and her husband has activities on Thursday nights.
We never saw K at class.
During last week’s Thursday night obedience class I was filling Sara in on my little New Year’s Eve fall. Sara had a story of her own to share.
K was in the hospital with a fractured skull because Murphy had knocked her down on one of their walks. Apparently Murphy stayed right next to K on the sidewalk until someone came along and K was able to stay conscious long enough to tell the good Samaritan where to take Murphy.
Last I heard she was expected to be released soon, and the Dr. has told her she can no longer walk Murphy. I wonder what will happen and if this fall is enough of a wake-up call for K.
Do you have any thoughts or suggestions that might encourage K to do the right thing for Murphy? I really think she’s a sweet dog.
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