I Learned What Most Never Do: To Open Your Heart Regardless of The Cost

May 5, 2010

For those who I speak to on daily basis or those who post on Ecstasy, they all know that I’ve been working with our dogs regarding their behavior after watching several episodes of Dog Whisperer. While we’ve made a ton of progress, it also seems like we’ve hit a plateau– at least were Diesel is concerned. I think part of the problem is that she didn’t grow up with a mom, so the typical corrections that work with Benji, don’t work with her because she never had a mother to correct her in that manner. I’m still working with her and am currently looking for rollerblades to tire her out because her high amount of energy is also part of the problem. I’m not looking for anything overly expensive because I only plan to use them to exercise the dogs, but so far I haven’t had much luck looking for blades that suit my needs. If anyone has suggestions, websites, companies, etc, please comment and let me know!

In regards to the dogs, we’re also looking at dog backpacks to put on Diesel to tire her out more easily as well. We figure if she has to lug something heavy during her walk, the result will be her tiring much more quickly then she is. Benji does quite well on walks and is actually a pretty good dog, but Diesel’s excitement often feeds his, which then builds her’s and the cycle goes on and on. I am hoping that eventually we’ll be able to drain a lot of her energy and get her into the calm submissive state she needs to be in.

It’ll be interesting to see how the dogs react to our newest (hopefully temporarily) addition, Trouble. Today, while I was mindless surfing Craigslist before work, I stumbled on an ad that said “Free Pitbull”. Most know that I’m a sucker for Pit Bulls. There is something about their breed that touches my heart. I honestly clicked on the ad just to see what it said and was quite sadden to read:

I have a 1 1/2 year old male pitbull. His name is Trouble, and he’s a very good dog. Very friendly with everyone, and he loves to just lounge around all day. He loves other dogs too! He’s used to being inside all day, so he wouldn’t do to well sitting in a back yard all the time.He’s also neutered.We recently moved into an apartment and we hate to give him up, but we have no option.
The only thing is that he does have allergies. We’ve taken him to a dermatologist recently and got allergy shots for him. He has to have his shots once a week and be given two pills orally per day. He sometimes gets blood blisters on his back/legs and his paws get red & swollen sometimes too. He’s a very high maintenance dog but it’s well worth it!
Free to good home only & to someone that can take care of him very well with his skin conditions. NO DOG FIGHTING.Will also inculde the rest of his shots, pills, and dog food.
Need him gone ASAP, i will probably have to take him to the humane socioty by tomorrow if no one can take him, which i really do not want to have to do.

While Arizona is a very pet friendly state and has more pro Pit Bull people than other parts of the country, a Pit Bull being put in a shelter that requires special meds is pretty much a death sentence. This is especially true give the economy and the fact that not many people want to dedicate more resources for the care of a dog. I immediately e-mailed the ad to Robby and suggested that perhaps we should take him, even if just on temporarily basis. I expected him to tell me that we shouldn’t and was surprised when he responded saying, “Make the call, I can pick him up after work.” I e-mailed the owner and advised them of our situation and what we intended and she seemed okay and very sure that we would fall in love with him. Right now I’m still waiting to hear from Robby and I guess when we come home we’ll take it from there. I just hope that we’re able to find him a good home with a family that will give him the care he deserves and if not, then I guess he’s ours, which we’re perfectly fine with, either way.

We really should have invested in a ranch.