Honey

We had Buddy for over a year, and things were just not working out with him.

He grew by leaps and bounds, and was just huge.  The kids could not go in their own backyard without Buddy knocking them down in his innocent attempt to shower them with love.

Buddy is a wonderful dog.  He has never, ever shown his teeth, growled, or attempted an act of aggression on any of us.  He just was…….enthusiastic.  He jumped on the kids, slammed his head into theirs (major ouch), scratched them with his bear sized paws, and after knocking them to the ground, would try and copulate with them.  Ick.

He had become, what I call, a “zoo dog”.  We could only love on him through the fence, and that is just not right for a sweet dog like Buddy. He needed someone who could handle him without getting a concussion.

I called the place where we got him and asked if they would take him back.  They are a non-euthanasia animal rescue center, and LOVE their animals, so I was comfortable with Buddy going to them.

We took Buddy back yesterday.  They will be getting a professional obedience trainer to donate her time with Buddy for the next 4 weeks before they place him for adoption.  I hope it works, but at the same time does not stifle his genuine love for people.  I AM (was) a professional animal trainer, and I could not get Buddy to mind. To take him back,  I had to drive over 50 miles with him in the van.  He probably weighs about 80-100 pounds.  I put the passenger seat all the way back and drapped a quilt across the floor and seat, and Buddy jumped in and sat on the floor.  On the drive down there, he chewed a huge hole in the quilt and then tried to climb in my lap as I drove down the highway.  I had to pull over three times, yelling “Sit Buddy.  I said SIT.  SIT YOUR ASS DOWN NOW. Sit. Sit. Sit. Shit!!!”

Needless to say, I was very ready for Buddy to get the hell out of the van.

There is a magnificent trianing manual called “Don’t Shoot the Dog” written by Karen Pryor.  It is the bible of animal trainers world wide.  Any dog can be trained, it states.

I wanted to shoot the dog.

While at the animal shelter, I spied a little dog that looked very much like a minature pincher (dogs I used to show), so I asked if we could visit with her.

She!!!is!!!splendid.  We named her Honey. She is gentle, loving, calm as all get out and just plain clever.  Last night, I let her out and she did her business, came back in and we crawled into bed.  Honey jumped onto Mia’s little daybed that is at the foot of our bed, and there she stayed all night.  In the morning, Bill got up and let her out.  She peed and pooped, then came back inside and went with him to wake the kids up.  She jumped on their beds and licked them and wagged her tail. They laughed and hugged her and she just let them….all the while with her little dog smile on her face and her tail wagging like mad. 

My 12 yo was devastated yesterday. He really loved Buddy.  So much so that he would not even speak with us until this morning.  He cried many tears yesterday and it broke my heart.  He would not touch Honey yesterday, but this morning was petting her and talking to her.

The shelter assured me that Buddy will find the perfect family meant for him.  Maybe on a ranch or farm.

Or with a family of giants in the Amazon.

Honey:

Adorable 

She is just the right size

Just the right size

Taking the boys to school

Honey loves to ride in the car