I Am Not A Dog Whisperer

Those of you who know me well know that I have never had a great affinity toward animals. In fact I am sure that when I was just a toddler I was frightened in some way by an unfriendly canine creature and it greatly affected me. As an adult, especially in later years, I decided to conquer that adversity and have made a conscious effort to get to know and stroke my family and friends' pets.

However, I must say that even in spite of all my self-control, I still have qualms when a large dog jumps on me to give a "friendly kiss". And would you believe animals, especially dogs, probably sense my hesitancy ... and they will always give me friendly gestures!!

I am great-grandmother to two wonderful cats that have been Christine and Lauren's pets for almost twenty years. Sarah was chosen by the girls when they were Pre-K ages. Then Blackie is a "rags to riches" story. He showed up on their front step one morning . He had evidently been an exploring male cat and wore the battle wounds. Cathy carefully cleaned his wounds and faithfully nursed him back to health (all on the outside of the house). She resisted Christine and Lauren's pleas to bring him inside.

Sarah was approaching her first year birthday ... The girls convinced their Mom that Blackie should come inside for Sarah's birthday party (think they had warm milk or something similar). Once inside, Blackie convinced everyone he would be a good house cat and let Sarah rule! The rest is history, so to speak, and Blackie and Sarah have a great brother-sister relationship.

Many times through the years Christine and Lauren have tried to convince their Mom that the cats needed a dog to share their lives. The answer was "no" ... two cats are enough. That all changed a couple of years ago. Christine's friend Bethany found this beautiful Boxer ... Sadie, as she was named, had a story similar to Blackie's. She was wounded when Bethany rescued her, took her to a merciful vet for wound management, necessary shots, etc. Bethany already had a dog and her family was not sympathetic to her pleas to keep Sadie.

Along comes Christine ... one look at Sadie and she was determined to help solve her friend's dilemma. Christine took Sadie home "just until we find a good home for her". Well, guess what, the "good home" is still with Christine. Remember Sadie is part boxer, part pit bull, and who knows what else! So she is a good-sized dog. Now there are two cats and a dog as house pets. Just one problem exists -- Sadie and Blackie do not get along at all. So Sadie has to always be kept in Christine's wing of the house ... period, that's just the way it is.

Early this summer (June 2009) Christine and friends went to Lake Eufaula for the weekend. On the return trip, they stopped at a convenience store on I-40. It seems someone had abandoned this "cute little Heinz 57 dog" ... and now you already know Christine doesn't share her grandmother's indifference to animals. She put this cute little dog (a puppy now named Libby by Christine) in the car and brought her home with her (until we find a good home for her). Libby really is a lovable dog with an abundance of energy. The good thing is she is small and won't get much larger even when she is an adult dog. However, there are now two dogs that must be kept separate from the cats.

Now, here is the main reason for my story. Cathy called this morning from St. Louis and asked if I could run by her house and let the dogs out for their "morning exercise". Naturally I said, "I'll be glad to do that!" When I unlocked and opened the front door, Sadie and Libby enthusiastically greeted me. My task was to take the dogs from the front door, down the side of the house to the back yard. Now, don't even ask why we didn't go out the side door by the carport. Remember the dogs and cats have to be kept in separate wings of the house ... and to go the easy way would disturb the cats.

Libby let me hold her collar and even though she is usually the more active one, she obeyed and let me lead her to the back gate. Sadie (the big boxer dog) wasn't that cooperative. First, she slipped out of her collar. So I decided to leave her inside while I escorted Libby to the yard. When I came back Sadie did let me put on her collar.

Now comes the fun part. I am trying to get Sadie to walk with me out the front door and toward the side of the house. Being the good watch dog she is, she noticed my car parked at the front curb and broke loose from me to go check out the car. One has to be aware that Sadie has not always obeyed and has explored the neighborhood before. Here I was ... yelling, "Sadie, Sadie, stop, stop!" Do you think Sadie listened????

I did catch her ... and in all the excitement, she knocked me to the ground ... and proceeded to make sure I was okay by jumping on me. Now, if someone had been present with a video camera, I am sure the film could have been selected for "America's Funniest Home Videos". It was quite a sight! I finally had the wisdom to say, "Stay!" instead of just calling "Sadie!". Sadie did stay! Fortunately for me, she did let me guide her to the back gate!

The only injury was to my pride! I wasn't hurt in the fall and I fell on the grass so my clothes didn't even show any damage. That's the good news! What did I learn from this experience? I am not a dog whisperer! Let me just say that I will endeavor to find an easier way to take Sadie and Libby for their "morning exercise" next time!

In the meantime, I might even do some research on how to handle "grand-dogs!"