A Friendly Visit

Thursday last was a gorgeous day here in Atlanta, and I was therefore more than happy to take the boys on a walk while Will fiddled with the latch on the Jeep’s tailgate. Hank, Gus and I went about a mile—to the end of the street and back—and when we rounded the corner to walk up the driveway, the three of us were met with a unusual surprise

A Sharpei.

I am absolutely a dog lover… animal-in-general lover… but a stray or loose dog in my yard isn’t my favorite. Mostly because Hank and Gus can’t help themselves and just go a little nutty. So I let the boys bark and bay and scare the dog off. Will came to the end of the driveway, and explained that the dog had been roaming around the yard since I had left for my walk, but wouldn’t come near him. Hm.

Well, I went to bed and thought nothing else of the dog, except hoping it found its way home. Of course I had no idea that she (and it is a she) would “move in”.
We were both able to leave work a little early on Friday, and when we arrived home, “Sharpie” was in our yard. Again. But interestingly she had run out of the bushes. Upon further inspection, she had actually made herself a little nest. Well, now this is a problem. Clearly she has some intention of staying. And Will and I are both suckers for a sad animal.

After we took the boys on their afternoon walk (which, by the way, was incredibly exacerbating and hilarious at once since Hank was having a full blown hissy fit that he had to wear his Gentle Leader.. . and he was wearing it because he saw Sharpie and lost his little doggie mind) we set up a little shelter for Sharpie near our storage shed; opened up one of our dog crates, put a couple old doggie blankets in there, and set out Tupperware containers of food and water. We also covered the crate with a tarp since rain was in the forecast. If Sharpie was going to stay, she might as well eat and be comfortable. Later that night we checked the crate… no Sharpie… but no food either.

Saturday dawned, and Sharpie was in her nest part of the morning, but spent most of the day roaming up and down our road… always going in one direction. Once she came around and was sniffing at the screened porch door, but for the most part she lays down in her little nest in the bushes. We gave her breakfast, though she ran off when she saw us approach. By the time I left for the barn she was wandering the street again, looking slightly dazed. I tossed her some treats and told her to go sit in the crate we outfitted for her. She has yet to take the advice.

Sunday morning our little friend was still around. By mid-afternoon we were worried some thunderstorms would get nasty, and Will tried to lure her with lots and lots of treats into the general vicinity of the crate… but it was a no-go. I watched this all unfold from the kitchen window (where I was making a kick-ass lemon pound cake)… she would only get within about 15 feet of Will and then back away… and even bark at him! But I watched her closely… and got a good look at her.

She’s not skin and bone, but she’s skinny and needs regular meals. She moves quite stiffly, and I think its possible she’s been shot with a pellet gun or something a few times, as evidenced by some small dark spots in her coat. We wondered about her eyesight the previous few days… and Will said it looks like one eye is possibly infected.

Ultimately Sharpie retreated to her nest in the bushes, and sat out the rain. Thankfully the storm did not turn severe… but she as breaking my heart just curled up in a ball, just feet from my house.

This morning I didn’t see her anywhere, not that I looked too hard for her. But sure enough she’s outside my window now… lounging in her pile of leaves. Will put a call in to animal control, and I certainly have mixed feelings about that. I want someone to take her somewhere where she will be dry and warm and safe from the cars that creep right up to her butt when she’s wandering around in the street. But then again… I don’t know what her fate will be once AC has her. I know they can’t all be saved. And she might be suffering so badly now that it might be in her best interest to be put down. I just wish she’d let us near her! Silly doggie! I’d take her to my vet to get a once over and go from there.

I did that with a cat once a few years back. We have had a LOT of animals just show up at our house… which is just bizarre. We’ve had two kittens (one now is named Rosie and lives with my sister and her family in Tampa, the other was reunited with its family), a Racing Pigeon (Franklin, who lives up the road a ways) and the cat Julia Gulia. Julia Gulia was a sweet girl, and was ballsy enough to come right up to our front porch and ask to be let in. She played in the vegetable garden while we worked… an absolute doll. I took her to my vet since she was so friendly, but we learned she was an older girl, and probably in kidney failure. We gave her some fluids, some B Complex and some stinky food to see how she would hold up over the weekend. Monday morning she would not budge from underneath my car… and I knew it wasn’t a good sign. I scooped her up and put her in the back of the car and brought her to my vet to be put down.

I don’t know why I cried so much that day… for a cat that didn’t belong to me… that had only been around for a week or so. And I don’t really even like cats so much because I’m horribly allergic to them. But Julia was somehow special, and I cared about her. And ultimately, I cared for her, by giving her the peace that she needed and deserved. For some cosmic reason, Julia chose our house in her final days

As for Sharpie… I just don’t know. AC says they won’t come by looking for a stray if a person is not at home/on premises. I’ll be home the next two days since my office is closed, but not all day. I don’t want her to get chased away and then not feel safe enough to return. That might be worse than the situation she is currently in. Someone suggested trying to sedate her with something in her food, but I’d have to get something from my vet… or a bunch of Benadryl. And then what would I do with her?

Oh little girl… I wish you’d tell us your story and let us help you. The longer you stay, the more I get to liking you, and the more I want to help.

***update while typing***

AC officer showed up, and off my little friend ran! AC officer asked how long she'd been around, her temperament, etc. Then asked if I'd be around for a few more hours. I told him I needed to go to the grocery store, but I'd be back afterwards. Sure enough when I got home, Sharpie was in her spot.

***NEW UPDATE***

Tuesday night, through the miracle of Bacon, we managed to get a collar and leash on Sharpie, and she is a completely different dog... she is sweet and loving and wants to be with you wherever you go. A complete 180 if I have ever seen one!

We moved the crate we had set up for her to a spot closer to the house, and she slept there for the night. This morning (Wednesday the 31st)she was all wags and wiggles when I went to bring her breakfast and take her out to potty ... which she did NOT do in her crate!! Good girl!

We also got an appointment at our vet, where she was given a once over. Dr. Z. believes her to be less than a year old since her teeth are nice and white. She weighs 30 lbs on the nose, and made friends with everyone in the office. No one believed me that she wouldn't come near us for days.

Bacon is indeed a conduit for miracles.

Sharpie's main issues are a skin infection, which was scraped for mange, etc and turned up negative, and an eye infection, which stems from an inverted eyelid, which it seems is common in Shar-pe'i's. But we have ointment to help her eye, and two weeks (!! is she staying that long?) worth of antibiotics for her skin. We didn't opt for a heartworm test at this time, since we are in contact with a Shar-pei rescue group and hope that they can help with her bigger veterinary bills.

Sharpie and The Boys were formally introduced today, and it was surprisingly a non-issue. Seeing as Hank was shaking with rage when he saw her yesterday, today was a huge improvement!

I'm not sure what we'll do with Sharpie over the next few days... I was lucky enough to have a few days off work to wrangle the situation. As sweet as this little dog is, she can't stay. Wee House is already too wee. So the race is on to find her a home or a foster! If you have ANY leads, please let me know!

A big, huge special THANK YOU! to Dr. Z and the staff at Shallowford Animal Hospital. Dr Z has been our family vet for over 20 years, and I even worked there several times. They are outstanding people and compassionate doctors, and never bat an eye when I bring a stray in for a once over.

On Love

I did something really bad this week. Well, actually, since it was something that I forgot about two weeks ago, technically I did something really bad then and only realized it this week. Also bad.

I forgot Stupid Anniversary. It was March 10th and I completely forgot. But so did my husband. And considering we don’t mark the occasion in any special way I guess is not such a huge deal, but I felt terrible when the realization hit me yesterday.

I should explain some of this shouldn’t I?

My husband, Will, decided to join the Marine Corps Reserves so that he could get tuition assistance through the GI Bill. He also wanted to serve our country, as so many males in his family had done before him. When we graduated in 2001, Will was still serving in the Reserves.

Then Stop Loss was enacted, just before his commitment would end. At the beginning of 2003 Will got the word that his unit would be deploying to Iraq. This weighed heavily on us both. At the time we were only dating, but we both knew marriage was part of our long-term plan together. But… what would happen in our time apart? And what if something terrible happened while he was deployed?

About a month before deployment someone at Drill—a sergeant if I am remembering this right—suggested to everyone that if they had a serious girlfriend, now was the time to tie the knot. Will mentioned this to me… and we just sort of looked at one another wondering if we should do it. We weighed the pros and cons… and we decided to get married before he deployed.

It wasn’t fancy… in fact it was nearly comical… Will had reported for duty on March 9th, and the next day we went to the courthouse in downtown Marietta, GA and the judge married us. We were just wearing jeans… poor Will’s had been marked with a nice muddy paw print by our dear Cassie the Wonder Dog. Will’s buddy Marty insisted on being there as a witness, and we could hear him giggling at the back of the room. Then as soon as the papers were signed, Will went back to Base and that was it.

And Stupid Anniversary was born.

I will never forget the day Will left. Thinking about it now… seven years later… makes me cry. My heart truly ached that day… no words can really explain what that feels like. You just know when it happens that that feeling is heartache. That that is what love is—fear, pride, joy, anxiety, worry, faith and hope—mangled up into one gigantic and overwhelming emotion. All focused on someone other than yourself.

Feeling all of those emotions—either on their own or in any combination—and knowing that for the foreseeable future I’d be struggling to keep myself functioning in a “normal” way despite them is likely what made that week in my life a complete whirlwind. And I struggle every year to remember just when the hell Stupid Anniversary is.

You’d think I’d put it on a calendar or tattoo the date across my forehead to remember. But I never do. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because, as I said before, it’s not an occasion we formally celebrate; our wedding (read: real) anniversary is July 3rd and that’s when we go out to dinner and that sort of thing. Maybe I don’t mark it down because when I think about it, I can’t help but relive the moment when Will got on a bus at the Drill Center heading for the airport… and I had to say goodbye not knowing when exactly I’d see him next, and beating back the thought that it was entirely possible I might never get the chance again.

Here would be a good time to mention that the three paragraphs above explain why, to this day, I have severe anxiety about my husband going anywhere that I’m not going. It doesn’t help that Will is an Emergency Manager in real life… which means when a parking garage collapses he’s on scene coordinating different resources. Or when there’s severe weather, he’s the guy that has to drive in that weather to get to his office to open the emergency operations center. Granted he isn’t a first responder… if he was I’d probably be heavily medicated and under the influence of who-knows-what. But that doesn’t mean his firefighter friends don’t ask him to come along with them on the engine, or call him to check out some massive apartment fire. God help me…

Anyway, I guess my point is… well, I don’t really have one. I forgot Stupid Anniversary, and I feel kind of horrible about it. I suppose that sums it up. It is a day that changed our lives dramatically, and really shouldn't be forgotten about.

But, Will, I love you. I’m lucky (most days) to have married you… twice. And I’d do it again and again and again…

What's it All About, Alfie?

On March 1st, Alfie officially turned 8 years old. I unfortunately wasn’t able to make it to the barn that day, so I made sure to bring him carrots when I went to ride the day before, and I also made sure he had his fair share of Bob’s Soft Peppermints (his favorite treat!). And I finally found and bought the bit I want for him (no small feat!). While we as animal-lovers like to think that our furry friends know it’s a special day, for them their birthdays come and go with as much fanfare as an average Wednesday. Just another day to eat grain and hay and chase friends in the pasture.

But March 1, 2010 was more than just another day for Alfie. For the first time in years—if not in his entire life—Alfie was deeply loved by His Person on his birthday even if he was oblivious to that fact. I thought about him all day, and hoped that he was getting lots of pats and scratches from his barn manager, and hoped that maybe she read him the note I left on the dry-erase board. I felt horribly guilty I wasn’t there to hug Alfie and groom him and fuss all over him on his special day. Silly? Yes… but I’ve been known to make birthday cakes for my dogs. No lie.

Alfie has a storied life for one so young, and my heart aches for the cruelty he has known in that time. Out of Given Terms, by Chester House, someone somewhere had grand plans for Alfie at one point. He sold at Keenland for $85,000 in 2002 and broke his maiden at Churchill Downs in November, 2004 (a $47,000 race). He won his first the following February at the Fair Grounds, but sadly by January of '06 he was entered in low-end claiming races with a price of $5,000 on his head. At some point he ended up in the wrong hands and was beaten and treated like trash. Thankfully someone intervened, bought Alfie from the trainer/owner who clearly didn’t give a damn about him, and he found his way to Georgia hours after his final race at Philadelphia Park.

I’m officially starting a new chapter in Alfie’s life this month. We’ve had the entire winter off, and its now time to get up and move! I’ve already got plans in the works to build up his fitness (and mine!) so we can start with lessons again, and I have my calendar marked up with dates of schooling shows and clinics through the spring and summer. We’re starting fresh and by the end of this month I hope to have a 3-, 6- and 12-month plan for our training. My hope is that for his 9th birthday Alfie will be feeling the wind in his face, cantering across a Beginner Novice course.

But even if we don’t get that far in 12 months, Alfie will still be loved and adored for the boy he is.

So ...Many Happy Returns of the Day, Alfie! I love you.