3°C and sunny

Seems to be a nice enough day outside today so I plan to take Boone out for a walk, not sure if I’ll take him out to the dog park or down by the water either way I’m sure he’ll have a blast I just like the pictures I get of him when he’s down by the water, too bad he does run around down there like he does in the dog park, would probably get some really nice pictures then. –sigh- Also going to desperate measures to try and find him some K9 buddies, he could really use some.

He’s driving me bonkers lately, he was doing so well with not going in the house and the past few weeks at least once a day he ends up having an accident either on the floor somewhere or in his crate and then starts howling because who the heck wants to sit in their own feces all night? I thought we had a hold on this but apparently not. Maybe its due to the lack of exercise he’s been getting lately?

At the moment he’s doing his usual laps in the backyard, there is always a well worn trail back there, quite funny really though I do have to wonder what his obsession is with going in circles.

OK well I never did get him out for a walk, other things came up. Ended up going to see a movie (Paul Blart Mall Cop) and forgot to put him in his crate before I left! Well one can guess what happened... I could smell it before I even turned the lights on, ugh. Part of me says leave it and clean it up in the morning and another is horrifed that I would even think of such a thing and to clean it up asap! So tired... anyway, a couple videos are uploading of the little nutterbutter from a previous walk and one from in the backyard today as well as a picture from tonight after I got home and found him sleeping peacefully on the futon in the spare room. I woke him up as I tripped over a cat on my way to my camera, he looked so tired.

Happy Beginings

Well as one can guess I did end up adopting him and changed his name to Boone (silent "e"). His first day home was January 9 2009. I was worried how he'd respond to the cats and rabbit and how they would respond to him but it went great! He gets along with all of them and even made a best friend with a foster kitten I had that was semi feral. They were great buddies, snuggling, grooming, playing but all good times must come to an end and the kitten was adopted within a day of being back at the shelter. I'm sure Boone helped bring him along. He was quite nervous, as he was fear aggressive, attempted to bite the partner and lunged at his mother repeatedly the first time they met. He's at the point now he just freezes when she comes to pet him. The partner can handle him decently now though its still quite clear Boone is not in favor of it.

He adores going to the dog park which I haven't taken him to recently due to other things popping up such as shift changes at work and then my senior dog's declining health but I hope to get him out there again fiarly soon so he can race around and bite the rear ends of the other dogs to urge them into running so he can chase them. With each visit to the dog park or to a pet store he is getting better about being around strange people, which is great. I just need to keep it on a strict basis and stop being so here and there with it to really help him along in his training.

Everyone at work asks how he's doing, if he's getting better about being around people. So I brought in some pictures to show them how happy adn well he's doing as well as telling them verbally how well he's getting along with new people with each outing. I keep being told how great my pictures are, and have even been told I need to enter the one of him running in the snow into their Calender for next year! Not only that it was suggested that I send some pictures in to the spokesperson for the shelter and that he wanted to talk to me as they may do a little article about him for their website about his progress. How cool is that?!

Everything was against us.

I wrote this before I adopted him on a dog forum blog. Figured the first post on here should be that post so its just a quick copy + paste job. The whole reason for this blog is to write down memories and his achievements at becoming "normal". There may also be a few bits about my other dog in here to as he health declines. There were so many fun times we had together and many of them I'm sure are lost forever in the depths of my mind, this is something I should have thought to do with him.

Orignally posted on 12/22/08

My older dog been back with my parents for awhile now leaving me dogless. I hate the feeling of not having a dog in the house. While working at the humane society I fell in love with a little 3 month old German Shepherd cross who had been found outside with a broken leg. We’ve assumed he was hit by a car. Well his leg has been repaired and he was given the name Perry. I don’t usually fall in love with puppies, yes I think they are cute but I also think they are a lot of work and I’m not sure I can handle that yet he is constantly there, pulling at me in some odd unexplainable way.

We’ve gotten along since day one, I was told he was a biter, don’t touch him and I did anyways. He wagged his tail, was clearly nervous of me but didn’t bite, just licked my hand. He’s a wonderful dog, at least to me. He used to be a pain to walk as he’d walk a few steps then stop suddenly and huddle down while looking up at me as I tried to avoid stepping on him which usually meant either me falling in an awkward position or slamming into something like a wall. But he’s since stopped that and trots ahead of me proudly now during our walks. Only doing that when there are some “scary” noises like the garbage truck that comes every few days to empty out the dumpsters or when there are several people around him, mostly men.

He’s finally been put up for adoption. I asked the boyfriend over dinner at our favorite restaurant. Instead of a quick no or grumbling he asked a few questions, and is still bringing it up. He isn’t keen on the idea says he feels threatened (felt the same way with Drifter). Despite me telling him to stop with the jealousy crud. He has said do whatever you want then; keeps bringing it up asking all these questions and then grumbles a bit before saying do whatever you want. Last night he came into my computer room and said he didn’t want the puppy and even his mom agreed I shouldn’t get it. Well I’d already handed in my application for him as he had said do whatever I want. I told him I’m a dog person; the house feels cold without a dog despite the two cats. His main concerns about having a dog again are 1) the barking, 2) the farting and 3) the exercising. Besides what does his mother have to do with this? She doesn’t live here, she can not agree with it all she wants but ultimately it’s neither her choice nor any of her concern. I feel the only reason she is opposed to this is because having a dog may mean I will have to say no to foster cats or to the amount I have been fostering since Drifter moved back with my parents. I know my mother won’t condone it but again she doesn’t live here she doesn’t get to make that choice. My mother (upon bringing up the possibility of me getting a dog) said I already have a dog and if I wanted a dog at home to take him back. This isn’t possible. Drifter doesn’t do well here; he misses my father too much. It wouldn’t be fair to him.

So everyone is against me getting this puppy except for Perry himself. I’ve tried to see it their way but can’t. The boyfriend’s reasons for not wanting a dog are silly “I’ll feel threatened”, “I’m worried about the farting and barking”, “your not going to walk him, you never hardly walked Drifter” the reason for not walking Drifter was due to his arthritis, it hurt him too much to walk, he was game for it but I hated seeing him suffer afterwards. I’ve explained that so many times I’ve lost count but he doesn’t understand. Worried about the farting? Come on… yes Drifter did so more then most dogs and still does, it used to be only after he ate chicken but as he’s gotten older his stink has gotten worse, with no reason behind it other then according to a vet “it happens just like sometimes in senior people they get a little more flatulent dogs do as well”. Drifter was never a barker unless the door rang he only barked as much as he did here because he was stressed, he’s calmed down since going back home. But he refuses to see that just that he was a barker and it was annoying therefore every dog will be a barker and will be annoying and ever dog will flatulent just like him.

Anyways, I’ve handed in the application, was told they are taking several applications and then sending them up to the big guys upstairs to decide on who would be the best home for Perry and then only the chosen one would be called. But with me working there I’ll know either way. The wait is killing me, I should have written more information, tacked on another sheet for goodness sakes. I’m so worried I won’t be chosen and my darling little monkey face will be off to another home. There are other dogs there I am mildly interested in that are over a year old, more my thing but I don’t feel the same way I did towards Perry. I know he has behavior issues, but I can help him with that like I did with Drifter. Perry is a fear biter, not something people like. All I can do now is wait and hope…