was named Bo. My parents got him around the same time that I was born,
and we literally grew up together. He was a great dane and extremely
over protective of me. He would even growl or snap at my older
brothers if he thought they were a danger to me. We had to get rid of
him when he ended up hurting one of my brother’s friends whom he
thought was trying to hurt me. Next there was Midnight. A full blooded
chow-chow. We had her for years. We lived in the country, so we would
let her out and she would run around, play with the neighbor’s kids,
and return home. No one ever voiced a concern to us about her coming
in their yards, and she was never aggressive-not once! A neighbor shot
and killed her because she was in his yard instead of doing the noble
and adult thing and communicating with us that this was an issue. I
remember calling her for the last time, and her trying to come too me
but she couldn’t because the bullet wound had broke her back. From
there, we had countless dogs that never lived long because they would
get run over by cars. Then we got Raggs. He was a shiz tzu. We had him
for I believe almost 14 years when he passed away in 2009. He was
definitely my mom’s baby, and throughout this whole time we have
always gone to Tar River Veterinary Hospital. They kept such good care
of Raggs in his final days, and for that reason and that reason alone
we continue to go to them even now. They love our dogs ALMOST as much
as we do, and it shows in their dedication. In 2008, right before my
22nd birthday, I went to a local animal shelter. I wanted a small,
cute, girly little dog…but instead I fell absolutely head over hells
for this adorable dog. He was a beagle, terrier mix. His legs were so
disproportionate to his body, and he was so ugly that he was cute. I
named him Broadway, and he just turned 5 this past April. Next came
Wicked-the part Persian devil cat. I got him in the fall of 2010. I
rescued him from a family who had picked him up as a stray, and
couldn’t keep him because of a family member that had severe
allergies. He was 3 this spring, and now that he’s become an
outdoor/indoor kitty is a lot more happy. Then came Kinglsey. A 7 lb
adorable Morkie. I got him in June 2011. He was born in September 2010
though. The family that had him before returned him to my Aunt’s
sister who was the breeder. They said he wouldn’t stop peeing on her
husbands feet. When I got this poor fellow he was obviously stressed,
and he was scared to death of men. Who hair was visibly thin, so much
so that the vet thought his hair was just naturally that way; and his
tail was also broken. To this day if you still rub it, you can feel
the kink in it. By the time fall 2011 rolled around, this cutie was
full of fur and full of love. Lastly, came Jacqueline (“Jaxx”). She is
a pit/terrier mix. We got her from another local animal control in
February 2012. She is already visibly the biggest dog we have.
As you can see, I have a lot of experience with my dogs. They all for
the most part are obedient. Stubborn sometimes yes-but so is their
mama so what can I say. I have seen first hand how one raises their
dog effects their outcome of how they grow. My mom has a miniature
dauschand/ Chihuahua mix. This dog doesn’t listen for nothing. My mom
raised her how she chose too, and that was entirely her right to
choose. However, it resulted in a dog that isn’t always the easiest to
handle or the easiest to manage. I’m not going to sit here and say my
dogs are perfect—because they aren’t. I’ve been bitten before.
Broadway bit all the time when he was younger-and he’s bit viciously
in recent years. However, each time recently was warranted. I want to
know that if push comes to shove, my baby is going to be there to
defend me and in each situation he has been. When he was younger, and
would bite or gnaw to hard—I would turn around and bite him back. If
it was on my hand, I bit his paw. If it was on my ear, I bit his ear.
You get the picture. I set boundaries quickly that I was the “alpha
male” –errr.. female in my case. My dogs mostly don’t even know they
are dogs-they get groomed once a week. They can eat whenever they want
too, they have a big back yard to roam around in—and p.s. since we
have 5 dogs, and a cat, in one household currently it’s basically like
your very own dog park. They sleep in the bed every night---I sleep
with 70+ lbs of dog around me anytime I’m not working. They are
spoiled as can be. However, I know my dogs. I know that when they are
getting frustrated to remove them from the situation. I am careful
anytime I introduce them to new people, new dogs, and especially new
children. My morkie goes with my mom and I to Miracle League whenever
we can take him and he loves to kiss on all the kids. Dogs actually
help children with disabilities. Some kids who never talk or never
talk effectively-do so when Kingsley is around. It’s amazing!
It’s very true some dogs are just aggressive. With the right owners
and the right understanding-these problems/issues can be worked
through. Making them happy, loveable dogs. I was reading the news
article about the pit bull that mauled the a 3 year old yesterday when
it was able to get out of the room it was locked in.
http://www.wral.com/pit-bull-mauls-3-ye
It is a sad story but it does indeed happen. One, the dog shouldn’t
have been confined in such a manner. Two, if a child is afraid of dogs
(which was evident since the child started screaming immediately) then
you probably shouldn’t offer to baby sit him. The dog shouldn’t have
attacked the child, but the owners could have avoided this situation.
The media will be the first to let out the news when a dog—especially
those labeled as “aggressive breeds”---- commits a vicious attack or
mauling or does anything else that is negative. What about the
positives though? Though I can’t find the link currently-what about
the pit that pulled his owner into a secluded area on their walk to
only discover an elderly person who had fallen and was unable to
recover. We hardly hear any of those stories.
People who don’t have dogs and don’t have the connection that a pet
owner has with their pet-will never understand where we are coming
from. Dogs are meant to be naturally feared-and those who fear them
because they don’t understand them are close minded. Prime example---I
found a pit bull wandering around my neighborhood. My first instinct
is to find it’s owner. The dog was uber friendly and came right up to
me. It allowed me to leash it. Then I walked around the neighborhood
and attempted to find it’s owners. I am a 5’2 small girl. I could
basically sit down on this dog. About 90% of people wouldn’t even open
their doors to me because they saw the dog. That’s ridiculous! I
finally found a nice couple who helped me find his home. He had dug
out of his owners back yard. I stop often when I see a stray dog, and
if it will come to me or let me approach it-I try to find it’s owners.
I would hope that some one would show me the same courtesy if any of
my pooches ever got out.
My dogs are apart of my family. They are my children. They might be
four-legged and furry, but they mind better than a lot of kids I see
in stores with their parents.
No comments:
Post a Comment