Finally Home-Lessons on Life from a Free-Spirited Dog by Elizabeth Parker Page A
Book: Finally Home-Lessons on Life from a Free-Spirited Dog by Elizabeth Parker
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Authors: Elizabeth Parker
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dog gets returned because the owners do not know how to handle them or the dog gets abused . Some peopl e are convinced that “tough love” will train the dog.
We just were not capable of trying to train two of the same kind of high-intensity dogs . We knew Buddy would consume most of our time , and we could not have two uncontrollable dogs w ith bad behavioral issues. We decided to keep looking.
After a few days of searching, we finally narrowed it down to two dogs that we really wanted. We joke that the one I wanted was a boy dog for $255 , and the other one that Michael wanted was a girl for $195. Both were adorable, of course. She was a little older (six mo nths) and little less expensive. A fter some careful deliberation, we decided that both her age and the reasonable price tag w ere the determining factor s that made her “the one.”
One thing we both agreed upon was that her name was going to be Brandi with an i at the end.
We adopted Brandi on October 6 th , 2001 . She was exactly six months old and had a little more of a reddish color for her coat. Once again, we had the ride home all planned out. I would sit in the passenger seat while Michael put her on my lap. We were prepared for another night just like the one driving home with Buddy.
Michael started the car , and we waited. Brandi just sat there as calm as c ould be with her front paws crossed over one another like a proper lady . She did not move the entire time. If this was to be a clear indication of how perfect she would become, someone must have been watching over us. She was the exact opposite of Buddy.
We could not wait to bring her home. Buddy would be so happy to have a playmate that could keep up with him. It would be awesome. We figured this would totally subdue Buddy if he had someone to romp around with all day. We drove home trying to remain calm, anticipating Buddy’s ecstatic reaction…or so we thought.
As it turn ed out, Buddy was not ecstatic. He was not even remotely amused. He looked about as happy as someone who ’d just been fatally stung by a swarm of bees. If I ever thought a dog could curse me out, it was at that precise moment.
Even though they had bathed her at the shop, she did not have that adorable, sought-after new puppy smell. Instead, Brandi had a very undesirable and distinct odor to her. We thought it was just from the puppy store , and we would bathe her again when we got home. She was twenty-nine pounds, so we were able to easily place her in the sink to wash her. Well, Buddy smelled it , too. As soon as he saw her, his face said it all. He looked at us with disdain , and then we noticed that he was foaming at the mouth. Not in the rabid sense, but foaming nonetheless.
Brandi, still sporting the crazy, big, ridiculous bow from the puppy store, was thrilled to meet him and began lavishing him with puppy kisses and jumping on him with pure delight. Buddy quickly walked into the other room, disgusted. As much as Brandi wanted to play with him, he gave her the cold shoulder and walked away.
Here wa s precisely whe n we learned that when Buddy wa s upset he actually mope d in the full dramatic sense of the word : head hanging low, feet dragging , and eyes drooping. He even occasionally thr ew in a heavy, exasperated sigh for added effect.
We found out after three more baths and an initial trip to the vet that the putrid smell was no ne other than disgusting ear mites. It was the most repulsive and unforgettable stench . The vet informed us that this was most likely the reason that Buddy froth ed at the mouth. We immediately picked up some medicine for the mites , and we had to sanitize anything that Brandi had been near. This included washing all linens, cleaning the crates, and vacuuming the carpets …again.
We also discovered that we must have signed up for the bonus package as Brandi had left the pet store with worms, no extra charge. Unfortunately, we found this out while we were eating our dinner — not
We just were not capable of trying to train two of the same kind of high-intensity dogs . We knew Buddy would consume most of our time , and we could not have two uncontrollable dogs w ith bad behavioral issues. We decided to keep looking.
After a few days of searching, we finally narrowed it down to two dogs that we really wanted. We joke that the one I wanted was a boy dog for $255 , and the other one that Michael wanted was a girl for $195. Both were adorable, of course. She was a little older (six mo nths) and little less expensive. A fter some careful deliberation, we decided that both her age and the reasonable price tag w ere the determining factor s that made her “the one.”
One thing we both agreed upon was that her name was going to be Brandi with an i at the end.
We adopted Brandi on October 6 th , 2001 . She was exactly six months old and had a little more of a reddish color for her coat. Once again, we had the ride home all planned out. I would sit in the passenger seat while Michael put her on my lap. We were prepared for another night just like the one driving home with Buddy.
Michael started the car , and we waited. Brandi just sat there as calm as c ould be with her front paws crossed over one another like a proper lady . She did not move the entire time. If this was to be a clear indication of how perfect she would become, someone must have been watching over us. She was the exact opposite of Buddy.
We could not wait to bring her home. Buddy would be so happy to have a playmate that could keep up with him. It would be awesome. We figured this would totally subdue Buddy if he had someone to romp around with all day. We drove home trying to remain calm, anticipating Buddy’s ecstatic reaction…or so we thought.
As it turn ed out, Buddy was not ecstatic. He was not even remotely amused. He looked about as happy as someone who ’d just been fatally stung by a swarm of bees. If I ever thought a dog could curse me out, it was at that precise moment.
Even though they had bathed her at the shop, she did not have that adorable, sought-after new puppy smell. Instead, Brandi had a very undesirable and distinct odor to her. We thought it was just from the puppy store , and we would bathe her again when we got home. She was twenty-nine pounds, so we were able to easily place her in the sink to wash her. Well, Buddy smelled it , too. As soon as he saw her, his face said it all. He looked at us with disdain , and then we noticed that he was foaming at the mouth. Not in the rabid sense, but foaming nonetheless.
Brandi, still sporting the crazy, big, ridiculous bow from the puppy store, was thrilled to meet him and began lavishing him with puppy kisses and jumping on him with pure delight. Buddy quickly walked into the other room, disgusted. As much as Brandi wanted to play with him, he gave her the cold shoulder and walked away.
Here wa s precisely whe n we learned that when Buddy wa s upset he actually mope d in the full dramatic sense of the word : head hanging low, feet dragging , and eyes drooping. He even occasionally thr ew in a heavy, exasperated sigh for added effect.
We found out after three more baths and an initial trip to the vet that the putrid smell was no ne other than disgusting ear mites. It was the most repulsive and unforgettable stench . The vet informed us that this was most likely the reason that Buddy froth ed at the mouth. We immediately picked up some medicine for the mites , and we had to sanitize anything that Brandi had been near. This included washing all linens, cleaning the crates, and vacuuming the carpets …again.
We also discovered that we must have signed up for the bonus package as Brandi had left the pet store with worms, no extra charge. Unfortunately, we found this out while we were eating our dinner — not
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