Dear Hell’s Angels, I think I have your Dog…

One year ago, my family and I went to a baseball game and met a dog that needed a home. We had been looking for a dog for about a year or so but each member of the family had their own wishes to meet. This dog however seemed to fit the bill for most of us so the next day after my husband got off work we went down and adopted the cute, sweetie, calm, droopy yet a dog’s dog…dog.

After picking him up, we went out and got supplies, with him in tow, took him for a long walk and then brought him into the house. All was fine until we took the leash off. Without going into many details, let’s just say, I had to reclaim the couch…and the bed…and the other couch…and just about everything. Then he had a snack of about 10 cupcakes at lightning speed, which sent him on a sugar high that would impress the most challenged ADHD child.

Soon I was on the phone with the place we adopted him from, only to find out he was our problem now. They were sorry we weren’t given all the facts but such is life. However, they did give me the number to an excellent trainer. This ended up being one of the greatest blessings I could have received.

Our dog’s name is D.O.G. pronounced Dee-Oh-Gee. You have to say it fast. If you say it to slow, he doesn’t know you’re talking to him. He can’t spell so he doesn’t know his name spells dog, therefore, he doesn’t answer to “Dog” only D.O.G. Really, his names only fun for us humans. You’d be surprised how many people don’t realize that.

So anyways, about two weeks after adopting D.O.G. we found out Justice needed brain surgery and D.O.G. was completely out of control. He wasn’t mean, just young, energetic, disrespectful and male. He’s a German Shorthair Pointer mixed with a Bluetick Coonhound. He LOVES to hunt, spot prey and very loudly tell me about it. He would howl/bark for hours. If a squirrel moved, a rabbit jumped, the cat came in the room, and out of the room, etc…..How could I have this with Justice going to have BRAIN SURGERY?

Surprisingly, training helped a lot. We came home from the hospital and he was perfect. He’s actually better when someone’s sick or hurt. It’s when all is well that he feels he has to move on or his inner devils gets the best of him.

Have you ever noticed how rough tough bikers do all these rallies for children with special needs and donate a lot money to hospitals for children? These same scary people you wouldn’t want to walk down a dark street alone with end up having such a kindness in their hearts. Yet, they don’t always show this to the world and they never seem stay in one place very long. As D.O.G. jumps fences, brakes out of his collars and has even been known to break a lock or two just to be free to roam, there’s also a kindness. D.O.G. will lay his head on my lap and show me so much love. His energy demands attending too and in turn it saves me from spending all day worried about the next surgery or doctor appointment and all the things that could go wrong.

Most days his gifts to me are hard to see. Cleaning up the bathroom trash for the third time seems more like a chore than a gift. Someday, when he’s older, I know I will look back at this dog and say he was by far the best dog I’ve ever had in my life. Maybe not if he continues to eat my brand new MaryKay makeup and shoes but someday I will see how much he helped me raise Justice. Hopefully, that is, with bikers in mind……