When my Life Partner and I decided to buy a house and settle in for the Happy Golden Years, no one told me how lonely and kinda creepy being by yourself would be. Yes, we thought, we will finally have a home to ourselves where we can hang whatever on the wall. Heck, let's paint the walls LIME GREEN! Sounds fantastic.... then the night time came and with that spooky house sounds.
As with any older home there are going to be a few creaks, moans and groans, it's just getting used to them that makes all the difference. We had an odd banging noise that would happen near the window/ wall area whenever the heater would start up and the duct would get warm. For the longest time I could have sworn it was someone bumping into the window because it made that hollow, glass sound. We had no idea that it could be so simple as a duct off it's kilter but it freaked me right the heck out and being by myself for extended periods of time and all those STUPIDLY, horrifying shows that always seem to pop up on Lifetime, I needed a dog with an extra set of ears to help keep me safe.
Maybe the dog would bite an intruder's face off if necessary, while I load a shotgun. So off I went to the Humane Society to find me a cold-blooded, intruder killer. While looking at some fine specimens of inbreed pit bulls and weighing my options, I came across a few possible choices. "Should I go with the limping Pomeranian, the Asthmatic Daschund or the shy, little white dog that oddly looks like a lab but smaller? Hmmmmm... let me walk and think." The shy, little white dog seemed to look straight into my soul with his piercing caramel eyes but never rushed the fence when I came by. So I wandered past to keep on looking, when all of a sudden Mr. Shy rushed the fence and wouldn't stop "Bugger Barking" at me. It was almost like he was saying, "Hey YOU!! STOP in your tracks! I am the bestest dog in the world and you shall take me home!!" I stopped, looked at him and thought, well isn't that odd. I came back up to his kennel and looked at his name tag. "Lucky. Hmmm, well Lucky this is your lucky day because I am going to take you for a walk and see how we do."
I took him for a walk and it was Kismet. Soon enough I had toys, bowls, leashes, collars and food all ready for when he could come home with me. We had an appointment to see about getting his manhood cut off and soon enough the day came when they deemed my little run-away safe for consumer use. The first thing I did was take him through McDonald's drive-thru and feed him a hamburger to show him that he would never be hungry ever again and that he could trust me to love him until the end of time. He was a funny dog that liked his new yard and would cuddle with me at night while my LP was at work. He tended to guard me when it was just us, I didn't mind at all and he liked his treats and regular food intervals. It was the beginning of a beautiful life together.
When you take in a stray dog or cat there are some traits that they have to learn to stay alive on the "outside". IE: eating garbage, hoarking down food as fast as they can, rolling in disgusting things so people won't try to capture them and running really fast to avoid cars, trucks and vans. All of these things can be lessened to a great extent but they never truly go away. To this day Lucky still smells like hot garbage whenever he gets wet, he smells worse after a bath than before.
I don't know why but I was under the impression that my dog would be fine just wandering around my house unsupervised while I wasn't home. Not that he had any formal training in this area before he was brought to my house, so why I thought that he would adjust perfectly was ridiculous. Eventually I ended up getting a baby gate and putting him in the kitchen. Soon enough he figured how to jump over the gate, two dining room chairs and a bunch of other stuff to get out to the safety of the couch. One day I came home to all of the curtains being ripped out of the wall. I couldn't figure out why all of the curtains would spontaneously expel themselves from the walls but I diligently put them back in wondering how the dog could possibly have done that.
I shrugged it off for another day to sit and ponder. Until one day when I witnessed him on the back of the couch barking at some walker on the street. He was up in the window and immediately decided to get down off the couch, got stuck in the curtain, freaked out, danced in a circle 50 times and then launched himself in the direction of freedom. Once safely on the ground he wrangled the curtain rod for about 36 seconds and then went to go pee on something else. I sat there in complete horror and awe of what had just happened. So, I went and put the curtains back up. What else could you do?
Lucky Dog has some serious leg muscles. He runs in our yard at Mach 8 at all times trying to "race" you, cars, trucks, kids on bikes, roller bladers all the while barking up a storm like he is the TOUGHEST dog on the planet. P.s.... he's a wimp and hides from the vacuum, the sound of pop corn popping and fire works. When he does manage to get out of the fence it's awful.
The first time this happened was when my fantastic husband had a fire call, and I being the fantastic wife drove him up to the fire station because it was cold, wet and rainy out. I was an idiot and didn't latch the gate, came through the other door and opened Lucky's cage so that he could go run outside and make mud pies. Well, it ended with me running around barefoot through the neighborhood trying to corner my dog. I finally gave up all hope of ever recovering him, started crying and hopped into my car to go search for his soon to be run-over dead body. I just knew I would have to bury him amongst my tulips. I found him trying to hop into the neighbor lady's yard because he was scared to death. I finally got him to stop moving, grabbed him and a gallons worth of mud and threw him in the back of the car. Once safely inside the gate he calmed down a bit but I had to give him and I a bath afterward.
That next summer my LP and I went on a camping trip to the Yoop. My mother in law came down to let Lucky Dog out to go to the bathroom and feed him. Not many of you know this, but she has recognizable hair and apparently my dog thought it was the greatest thing to try to run up and jump as high as he could to bite her hair. He didn't want to bite her, just her fantastic hair. I don't know, maybe he thought it would taste like a cloud or something but he tested the limits with that one. She had to call us and tell us immediately what the crack-head dog had done. We were amazed he could jump so high.
We didn't really have a chance to witness his serious "ups" until later that summer when I witnessed him doing "ninja" flips off the tree trunk. No joke, the dog was trying desperately to get at a squirrel when he ran as fast as he could up the tree, got to the breaking point and pushed off with a smooth kick, flipping in mid air then landing nimbly on his graceful paws. I sat there stunned at what I had just witnessed. I believe I dropped my gardening trowel and sat down to watch it again. Sure enough, he did it a few more times while the squirrel was taunting him. One day he would get that squirrel by the tail, whip it around as hard as he could then let it go to run sideways up the tree and never to return to the ground level again. The next year the squirrel's baby mama bit his face and he had to go have a renewed rabies shot because I was afraid he had gotten the mange from the grumpy squirrel.
Lucky Dog has been an integral part of our lives and even more now that we have our own Little Monsterkins. He thinks that my child is his baby and only his. They even have their own little hand language. When she wants him to come to her she will do a little hand wave at him and he will come over and lick her face and love on her until she looks away which apparently is the signal that she's had enough. He respects her space and doesn't smother but makes sure that she is taken care of at all times. He let's her grab his ears and face and just sits there and takes it because he is the family dog and that's what they do. They let baby's teethe on them, drool on them and take long luxurious naps in the sun on them. He has calmed down so much since Monsterkins came into this world and I couldn't imagine our lives without him. So the next time you see a shy little dog in the corner of his cage, let him or her be the next new family member. I can't imagine my story any other way.
-Suzs
As with any older home there are going to be a few creaks, moans and groans, it's just getting used to them that makes all the difference. We had an odd banging noise that would happen near the window/ wall area whenever the heater would start up and the duct would get warm. For the longest time I could have sworn it was someone bumping into the window because it made that hollow, glass sound. We had no idea that it could be so simple as a duct off it's kilter but it freaked me right the heck out and being by myself for extended periods of time and all those STUPIDLY, horrifying shows that always seem to pop up on Lifetime, I needed a dog with an extra set of ears to help keep me safe.
Maybe the dog would bite an intruder's face off if necessary, while I load a shotgun. So off I went to the Humane Society to find me a cold-blooded, intruder killer. While looking at some fine specimens of inbreed pit bulls and weighing my options, I came across a few possible choices. "Should I go with the limping Pomeranian, the Asthmatic Daschund or the shy, little white dog that oddly looks like a lab but smaller? Hmmmmm... let me walk and think." The shy, little white dog seemed to look straight into my soul with his piercing caramel eyes but never rushed the fence when I came by. So I wandered past to keep on looking, when all of a sudden Mr. Shy rushed the fence and wouldn't stop "Bugger Barking" at me. It was almost like he was saying, "Hey YOU!! STOP in your tracks! I am the bestest dog in the world and you shall take me home!!" I stopped, looked at him and thought, well isn't that odd. I came back up to his kennel and looked at his name tag. "Lucky. Hmmm, well Lucky this is your lucky day because I am going to take you for a walk and see how we do."
I took him for a walk and it was Kismet. Soon enough I had toys, bowls, leashes, collars and food all ready for when he could come home with me. We had an appointment to see about getting his manhood cut off and soon enough the day came when they deemed my little run-away safe for consumer use. The first thing I did was take him through McDonald's drive-thru and feed him a hamburger to show him that he would never be hungry ever again and that he could trust me to love him until the end of time. He was a funny dog that liked his new yard and would cuddle with me at night while my LP was at work. He tended to guard me when it was just us, I didn't mind at all and he liked his treats and regular food intervals. It was the beginning of a beautiful life together.
When you take in a stray dog or cat there are some traits that they have to learn to stay alive on the "outside". IE: eating garbage, hoarking down food as fast as they can, rolling in disgusting things so people won't try to capture them and running really fast to avoid cars, trucks and vans. All of these things can be lessened to a great extent but they never truly go away. To this day Lucky still smells like hot garbage whenever he gets wet, he smells worse after a bath than before.
I don't know why but I was under the impression that my dog would be fine just wandering around my house unsupervised while I wasn't home. Not that he had any formal training in this area before he was brought to my house, so why I thought that he would adjust perfectly was ridiculous. Eventually I ended up getting a baby gate and putting him in the kitchen. Soon enough he figured how to jump over the gate, two dining room chairs and a bunch of other stuff to get out to the safety of the couch. One day I came home to all of the curtains being ripped out of the wall. I couldn't figure out why all of the curtains would spontaneously expel themselves from the walls but I diligently put them back in wondering how the dog could possibly have done that.
I shrugged it off for another day to sit and ponder. Until one day when I witnessed him on the back of the couch barking at some walker on the street. He was up in the window and immediately decided to get down off the couch, got stuck in the curtain, freaked out, danced in a circle 50 times and then launched himself in the direction of freedom. Once safely on the ground he wrangled the curtain rod for about 36 seconds and then went to go pee on something else. I sat there in complete horror and awe of what had just happened. So, I went and put the curtains back up. What else could you do?
Lucky Dog has some serious leg muscles. He runs in our yard at Mach 8 at all times trying to "race" you, cars, trucks, kids on bikes, roller bladers all the while barking up a storm like he is the TOUGHEST dog on the planet. P.s.... he's a wimp and hides from the vacuum, the sound of pop corn popping and fire works. When he does manage to get out of the fence it's awful.
The first time this happened was when my fantastic husband had a fire call, and I being the fantastic wife drove him up to the fire station because it was cold, wet and rainy out. I was an idiot and didn't latch the gate, came through the other door and opened Lucky's cage so that he could go run outside and make mud pies. Well, it ended with me running around barefoot through the neighborhood trying to corner my dog. I finally gave up all hope of ever recovering him, started crying and hopped into my car to go search for his soon to be run-over dead body. I just knew I would have to bury him amongst my tulips. I found him trying to hop into the neighbor lady's yard because he was scared to death. I finally got him to stop moving, grabbed him and a gallons worth of mud and threw him in the back of the car. Once safely inside the gate he calmed down a bit but I had to give him and I a bath afterward.
That next summer my LP and I went on a camping trip to the Yoop. My mother in law came down to let Lucky Dog out to go to the bathroom and feed him. Not many of you know this, but she has recognizable hair and apparently my dog thought it was the greatest thing to try to run up and jump as high as he could to bite her hair. He didn't want to bite her, just her fantastic hair. I don't know, maybe he thought it would taste like a cloud or something but he tested the limits with that one. She had to call us and tell us immediately what the crack-head dog had done. We were amazed he could jump so high.
We didn't really have a chance to witness his serious "ups" until later that summer when I witnessed him doing "ninja" flips off the tree trunk. No joke, the dog was trying desperately to get at a squirrel when he ran as fast as he could up the tree, got to the breaking point and pushed off with a smooth kick, flipping in mid air then landing nimbly on his graceful paws. I sat there stunned at what I had just witnessed. I believe I dropped my gardening trowel and sat down to watch it again. Sure enough, he did it a few more times while the squirrel was taunting him. One day he would get that squirrel by the tail, whip it around as hard as he could then let it go to run sideways up the tree and never to return to the ground level again. The next year the squirrel's baby mama bit his face and he had to go have a renewed rabies shot because I was afraid he had gotten the mange from the grumpy squirrel.
Lucky Dog has been an integral part of our lives and even more now that we have our own Little Monsterkins. He thinks that my child is his baby and only his. They even have their own little hand language. When she wants him to come to her she will do a little hand wave at him and he will come over and lick her face and love on her until she looks away which apparently is the signal that she's had enough. He respects her space and doesn't smother but makes sure that she is taken care of at all times. He let's her grab his ears and face and just sits there and takes it because he is the family dog and that's what they do. They let baby's teethe on them, drool on them and take long luxurious naps in the sun on them. He has calmed down so much since Monsterkins came into this world and I couldn't imagine our lives without him. So the next time you see a shy little dog in the corner of his cage, let him or her be the next new family member. I can't imagine my story any other way.
-Suzs
I loved reading about your dog, Lucky! This is such a nice story and rescues are the BEST!
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