No Matter What — No Stone Left Unturned

I can’t believe today is November 1st. Where has the year gone? I can’t believe tomorrow is November 2nd. My 58th birthday. Where have all of those years gone? Have you heard the saying the days go slow but the years go fast? Don’t blink.

I did a thing. I decided to embrace my upcoming 58th birthday. Well, and I got tired of constantly coloring my hair to try and hide the years. At the same time letting the gray grow out when you have long hair can be painful. I took the easy way out. I had the salon cut my hair to my shoulders, which is short for me. And color it to match my roots. So mostly gray with some brown. Now you won’t be surprised when you see me.

Tracy did a double take. He likes my hair long. And blonde. I told him I can’t be 80 and still coloring my hair blonde. He was like, why not? Lol.

The first day of November. The official day that it’s ok to turn our heat on. We have definitely become our parents! Got our first snow today.

I’m in a bit of a funk today. Too soon to talk about it. Then I read that the Broncos are trading Von Miller to the Rams. Say it isn’t so.

I got an invoice in the mail for Sheila’s license renewal. Another thing I can’t believe is that Travis has had his dog Sheila for a year already. Travis adopted her from the humane society when she was eight months old. She had been surrendered by her previous owner.

I drug my feet in allowing Travis to have a dog. Don’t get me wrong, he loves animals. But he already had a bird and a cat. Even though Travis lives in his own home, I still have to clean his bird cage. I’ve been cleaning the bird cage for twenty years now. Travis got his cat Alsoa when he moved out. She is eight years old. I clean her litter box each time I am at his house.

I also feed Sonic (the bird) and Alsoa. They both have feeders, so I make sure they are full.

I wanted him to prove he was ready to have a dog by taking care of his other pets. Which never happened. He gives them love and attention, but that is as far as his effort goes.

So I was unsure it he was ready for a dog. The level of care is much more demanding. They need exercise. In his setting he would need to take the dog out to go potty and out for walks because his small yard is not fenced. And someone needs to clean up the poop.

Travis further complicated the conversation by saying when he got a dog he wanted it to be a trained service animal. Have you ever priced the cost of that type of training? I have. The number is in the thousands.

I get that owning a pet and interacting with animals can have many benefits. That’s why I said yes to the cat! I know, a cat only interacts when they want to, not when you’re needing some love.

I had read that a dog could provide companionship, friendship, reduce loneliness and alleviate anxiety. I also know from experience that dogs love us unconditionally and without judgement.

Travis’s doctor told Travis that he needed to exercise, even if it was just walking. Travis slyly told him in front of me that he would if he had a dog. The doctor looks at me, I just smile. How do you tell a doctor in a fifteen minute appointment that Travis says he’ll walk the dog, but I already know from experience that is not likely to happen.

Our goal is to leave no stone left unturned. So we have tried many things to help Travis live his best life. So I relented. Worst case scenario, I have three dogs at my house. Best case scenario, Travis learns some responsibility and experiences more joy in his life.

Right now we are teetering somewhere in between the best and worst case scenarios.

I had been keeping an eye at the dogs available at the humane society. So many of them are a pit bull mix. There are five breeds of dog not allowed on his lease. Pit bulls happen to be one of the five. No matter what you think about pit bulls, our hands were tied. We had no intention of finding him a new place to live, so I followed the lease rules.

One day I saw Sheila there and sent him a picture. He thought she was adorable and went to meet her. I didn’t meet him there. When I’m around things that happen tend to be my fault. For instance, if I met her and thought she wasn’t a good fit for any reason, I would never, ever, ever, never live that down. I meant to say it like that.

It needed to be his decision. Period. I just got a call when he needed me to pay for her. He said he loved her. Because when he visited her in the room she was all over him giving him love and kisses. They loved each other because they were in a small room with only each other to focus on and without any distractions.

It’s a bit different now when he is trying to sit on the floor and play his Xbox and she wants to play and get love and kisses. (Travis does have furniture, he has always preferred sitting on the floor.)

I didn’t see Sheila’s paperwork that day. I read through it after the adoption. Under notes it says, “This dog has a history of being high energy. We recommend an experienced owner willing to provide consistent positive reinforcement training as well as two 30 minute rigorous exercise sessions a day such as jogging or playing fetch. A child visit and/or no small children is recommended due to the need for consistency in training as well as the dog’s energy level. Be sure to give your dog something to keep him busy when you are not home. A harness may be needed to aid in walking the dog.”

On another sheet in the packet it states, “This dog is high arousal, and may exhibit undesirable behaviors as a result. Because of this, Larimer Humane Society requires this dog go to a home without children under the age of 12.” It also said that Sheila has poor impulse control. That actually sounds just like someone else I know!

Travis signed the forms acknowledging that the behavioral information had been disclosed to him. I don’t know if anyone actually read the forms to him.

It didn’t take us long to realize that a harness would be better to walk her. Travis left it on her and she chewed it off. She has almost pulled my arm off many times. I need to find a harness that is easily removable so that there is a chance that Travis will remove it when they come in the house.

I have received countless calls from Travis about something else she destroyed, including chewing on important cords. She has eaten every dog bed I have provided. Tracy said a puppy doesn’t become a dog until they have done at least $1,000 worth of damage.

She has escaped from his house by running out the door when someone opens it on multiple occasions. And then doesn’t come back when she is called. That happened one day when I was over and I opened my car door and shouted, Sheila, let’s go bye-bye, and she ran over and jumped in.

Over the past year Travis has asked us to take Sheila to our house multiple times because he needed a break. Each time was for a bit longer.

Then there was the time Sheila escaped from Travis’s door and ran to a neighbor’s yard and grabbed their chicken that was in the yard, but not caged. It didn’t end well for the chicken. Sheila didn’t draw blood, but just running with it in her mouth did the chicken in.

The neighbor was upset, with good reason. They talked about calling animal control and having Sheila put down. Which resulted in Travis having a meltdown. Travis had called us and his phone was on speaker so we heard the resulting chaos. I mentioned to the neighbor that I didn’t know chickens were allowed in the mobile home park. He immediately told Travis that he wouldn’t call animal control.

We went to Travis’s house and I let Tracy talk to the neighbor. This guy has been a thorn in my side over other things over the years so letting Tracy handle it was best. I can’t remember who called the sheriff’s deputy, but Tracy handled that as well.

We took Sheila home and had her for three weeks that time.

We had hoped that Sheila would grow out of her, what I call exuberance. That hasn’t happened. She escaped from Travis’s again today. Looks like I am bringing her home with me tomorrow, Travis Tuesday.

Sheila really is a sweet dog with a good disposition. She doesn’t get in as much trouble here because she can go in and out as she pleases and she has our dogs to play with. When they are tired she runs around the yard in circles all on her own.

We had talked about getting her training, but I just never got it on the calendar. It’s not like I don’t have anything else going on.

So today I booked a consultation appointment with a dog trainer for Saturday.

Because when we adopt in this family, it’s forever. No matter what the behaviors. No matter what things get damaged. No matter what.

“Rescue: It’s not just a verb, it’s a promise.” - Author Unknown

“Adoption is not the call to have the perfect rosy family. It is the call to give love, mercy, and patience.” - graciousquotes.com