Lately, I seem to be responding more to Facebook posts than writing here, but a post today prompted me to ask the question - "how did you end up with the fur kids you have today?"
My story begins with my attendance at a PACC911 adoption event back in 2005. My shift was over and I was walking toward my car, when a little white Pit Bull, with one ear flopped over her left eye, walked out in front of me and sat down. When I greeted her, she sat on her haunches and put her paws up, as if to say, "Pick me!" She smiled, and when I sat down to speak with her foster Mom Toni, she put her paws around me waist, and it was all over!!
Star, as she was called then, had been born at the no-kill shelter after her parents, both Pits, had been brought in one night. After she was weaned, she lived in a 3' X 6' cage until the day Toni pulled her. So, for her first two years she was incarcerated, used as a blood donor, and after a while, went kennel crazy. Toni said she is the only dog she has ever seen run up the sides and over the top of her kennel. She knew she had to pull her that day!
Unfortunately, while volunteering at a shelter in California, I had experienced one of my favorite charges, Woody, do that very same thing. They were both alive but most certainly not living a good life!
I filled out the appropriate pages of adoption forms; Toni made her home visit; I cleared things with my then landlord; and on December 28, 2005, Rosie came to live with me.
The first two years Toni and I had MANY conversations about my frustrations. I had never had a dog I hadn't gotten as a puppy, and Rosie hadn't been told what not to do. She was also afraid of noises that most of us take for granted. I remember cleaning up all of the Christmas stuff and turning on the vacuum cleaner, when I noticed Rosie leaning against the front door, shaking violently. The hairdryer used to send her running too!
My commitment was to walk her every day, twice a day, and there would be no exceptions! Until VERY recently, I never deviated from that promise either, but now that Ben lives here too, there are days when I don't feel too guilty skipping a walk, especially when it's 115 outside!
We went to PetsMart training, only to withdraw because of a very unruly dog that the trainer never reprimanded. I worked with another trainer using the Remote collar, but wasn't crazy about the idea of shocking her into submission. Despite all of my efforts, she still pulls like a Clydesdale! It used to bother me until my friend Bari, the pack leader of PACC911, told me a story about the time Rosie visited her beautiful home from the shelter.
Bari has a horse paddock and arena, and when Rosie came through the gate she just stood there and stared. She had no idea what to do with all that space. After much coaxing, she just ran, and ran, and ran, and ran, until she was too tired to take another step. I remember this story on some days when I don't want to go out!
Rosie is a VERY dominant female, and, as an Aries, so am I! We've had our moments, and she may THINK she is in charge, but at the end of the day, she respects my wishes and commands, and is an awesome girl. Besides, she now has Ben to rule!!
Having just turned eight and becoming an official Elderbull, I do wonder at times, just when she'll slow down. I am pretty sure she is making up for lost time.
What's your story?
NOTE: The PACC911 adoption season begins in October. Check out the dates and locations at http://www.pacc911.org
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