For a few years now, since we have retired, Hubby has been telling me we should get a dog. We have owned at least six dogs in our lifetime. I love dogs but not the ticks that are so dangerous. Yes, they give dogs poison but I have seen live ticks crawling on the granddogs that I babysit during some summers.
It has been good that the Shelters have been open by appointment only for the last two years due to COVID as I could avoid the issue more easily. Our local "limited kill" shelter finally opened on Saturdays for three hours for an open house and Hubby wanted us to go. We did.
He immediately fell in love with a 3-year-old foxhound called Birdie and they let her out for us to visit in a side room. The dog was loving and exploring and calm. Hubby felt sure that since she was the only dog not barking in the kennels she was a real "Lady" and he called her that. He wanted to take her home immediately! I had to calm him and explain we needed to dog-proof the house (and talk about such a big step.)
We worked on the house and a week later emailed the shelter for an appointment to take Lady. Since the manager saw our division in the enthusiasm she wisely suggested we foster to adopt.
Those of you who have read the previous two blog entries know that this is exactly what we did. The second post shows the adventure we were exposed to and it helped me talk Hubby into returning this dog. I had hoped he would play a bigger role in the dog's care and in watching her, but he has a number of projects and is not good with details, such as when and how to give the dog medications. It is not his early dementia, as he has always left the details of life to me. He did take her on the long walks. While she initially sat with him while he watched TV, Lady related to me mostly, insisting on sitting in my lap during my morning coffee on the sofa.
She was very needy in demanding that I rub her tummy for a 15 minute morning session as I drank my coffee and watched the news. She would take her paw under my arm and push it down. I did not mind as she was warm for my cold hands and I realized that such vulnerable love was something that was in very short supply in her chaotic life. She was clearly trusting. She followed me everywhere.
She even liked/tolerated(?) baths.
In about two weeks she was able to sleep in her kennel, was housebroken and rang the bells hanging on the door to go out, and actually started "talking" and "arguing" with me over treats in a very human way.
She even liked/tolerated(?) baths.
She slept in her kennel every night without any bother and waited for me to get up in the early morning to feed her and let her outside! No barking. Perfect, right?
Then came the tragic evening that I wrote about in my last post. Such a scary thrill ride! I had imagined her dead on the road from a traffic accident, dead from the gunshot of a nearby hunter, or coming home with all kinds of health issues and broken bones to add to the ones she already had!
It was not hubby's fault that she escaped, but it was/is a problem in that he cannot watch her and start a BBQ at the same time. His focus is singular.
We took her back yesterday. The people at the shelter were polite and friendly, but I saw they were somewhat cold in taking her back. I brought lots of extra food I had purchased and snacks and other stuff in a bag as well as all the food she did not eat. I still felt a failure.
Do I miss seeing that soft brown face in the morning-YES
Do I miss tripping over her as I make my way to sit down for my coffee--NO
Do I miss taking her outside several times a day-MAYBE
Do I miss her ability to drag me down the steps in the early morning before she can be controlled-NO
Do I miss her warm head in my lap-YES
Do I miss all the dog hair on the furniture-NO
Do I miss having to negotiate my every move in the kitchen-NO
Do I miss Dog bags of poo-NO
Do I miss her enthusiasm for life-Perhaps
Do I miss her watching birds with me in my weekly count for Cornell-YES
Will we try for another dog-Probably not for a long time.
Sorry you had to let Lady go but someone will take her and you had to make a choice.
ReplyDeleteI think that was a wise choice. Hard, but really you gave it a good shot, and it would only have got more fraught as your husband's dementia progresses and you can't leave him indefinitely while you search for her. I do support your decision. The shelter people were probably disappointed, but they ought to know it's better to receive her back in excellent condition, than as an injured runaway.
ReplyDeleteSorry you are going through this but it wasn't working. You have your hands full already.
ReplyDeleteIt was the right thing to do. She will make some other person a wonderful companion. Don't worry about your decision.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for your sadness and your inner turmoil. You really tried.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard being the responsible one and having to make tough decisions.
A tough choice but the right one. We had to return a dog once. Somehow we'd convinced ourselves that we should get a dog when we had our first baby. It was way too much. We had to take her back. We later got a dog when my daughter was 8. Wonderful dog. Now, again, we're beginning to think maybe we should get another dog. But how would we travel?
ReplyDeleteHope she finds a good home. Animals are so at our mercy :(
ReplyDeleteHugs to you for trying and much hope that she finds a family soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being so patient and trying so hard to make it work. Sounds like a good choice for what's happening in your life and the dog's sporadic behavior. You're not a failure; you're a success at fostering and spoiling her for awhile. She had a very delightful resort vacation at your place. The dogs DO appreciate the break from the noisy shelter life. Some shelters send out dogs for a lunchtime visit or overnight visits just to give them a break from the different environment inside the shelter. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry. Here, I'M HOME At last.
ReplyDeleteI think you made a wise choice and an equally wise one to think twice before getting another dog. I, too, selected a 10 month old dog who was such a quiet lady at the pound, quite unlike the barking, jumping dog in all the other cages. She was short haired, the right size -- a pointer breed, black and white. She was house-broken but could not tolerate being outside alone in our enclosed backyard when we were home or would bark incessantly. Attempts to leave her out and not reward her barking by bringing her inside were unsuccessful as she never stopped, so lest our neighbors report her noise to local police we had to bring her inside. I had just purchased some expensive new drapes covering almost the entire end of one room only to discover something had chewed up a bottom section. It was a mystery for several days as to the culprit. I was concerned a varmint of some sort had gotten in through the fireplace. Then, my daughter discovered the drape threads remains in the dogs stool in the backyard. Having previously told my young children her clingy behaviors were likely because she had been mistreated and we just needed to love her, I felt compelled to keep her so they wouldn't be disappointed. I should have returned her to the Pound as she was never the type dog I thought I had. She never chewed the drapes or damaged anything afterward. One afternoon we had to put her outside since all of us were going to be away. A wicked storm with rare loud thunder unexpectedly came up. She managed to get over the wall and was gone for several days though we drove around looking for her. One day a phone call told us she had finally been retrieved in someone's yard. Seems a young couple spent a great deal of time trying to corral her when she was spotted in the middle of a busy major boulevard intersection -- with several traffic lanes going both ways. All traffic had come to a stop because of her. They finally managed to get her into someone's enclosed backyard a couple blocks above the intersection. They were able to read her dog tag and called us. We were never able to train her to come when called so those occasions when she happened to get out of our backyard she ran just as you described your dog. She wanted to cuddle like a tiny puppy would do, had won over my initially resistant husband, and he would let her climb up in his recliner where she would turn around and back in, then just sit there with him since he didn't have her on his lap. Hummingbirds had built a nest on our patio, hatched a couple eggs. Apparently when they left the nest, they must have swept down low enough that she did her bird dog thing and caught them -- but that killed them. We had long since decided to keep her but she was forever a disappointment to me though she was very possessive toward me. She developed a cancer when she was older and we finally had to put her down. I had grown up with dogs but mostly we got them as pups. I was even given a stock collie as a pup I successfully trained when I was a pre-teen. This dog I got at the pound was the only one I ever had that I never could develop the attachment I had felt for our other dogs.
ReplyDeleteDogs require much maintenance. And you’re probably not cat people. I do feel sorry for the dog though.
ReplyDeletePoor pup but I totally get it! So much work and worry though the cuddles are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteHeart breaking? Yes.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree bring her back is the right thing to do.
You gave her excellent care and love. She bonded with y'all.
I believe you gave her a chance, but not yourself.
Sad.
Yes, Carol called me. Yes please come.
ReplyDeleteWell that was sad news, but you made a decision and perhaps it was for the best. I expect Lady will find another home and you will be relieved of guilt ;)
ReplyDeleteThat is sad but the right choice. My daughter had to do a similar thing recently.
ReplyDeleteThe fostering to adopt program is such a great way to handle this. It's an important decision to adopt a pet and a trial period is very wise.
ReplyDelete