Lemon Of Love

I never intended for this blog to be about rainbows or unicorns or puppy dogs …but for today I will defer to the latter…because 4 years ago today, Rider found his permanent home.

Rider?  Yes, Rider.  Christina and I don’t always fully agree on things, but a name change would be one of those times we did.  She hated the name Rider…I, on the other hand, envisioned a scenario where the dog was humping the neighbor’s wife and me yelling at the dog,  “RIDE’er, RIDE’er, RIDE’er”…and that is just not a good situation for anyone involved.

Three years had gone by since we moved into our house, and due to the instability of our job situations, Christina and I had not found the time to add a 4-legged friend to our home.  We both grew up with Daschunds, ironically both named Fritz(y), so we figured it only natural that we would wind up with one.  Well fate intervened.  Christina came across a flyer for an older puppy in one of the offices she hardly ever frequents at her job.  She made a copy of it and brought it home.  She didn’t hold out much hope figuring the Grinch hadn’t stole enough of Christmas so he would dismiss any notion of taking a look at this dog.   What wifey didn’t know, is I always wanted a Yellow Lab…and to name him Hobbes to my Calvin.  I didn’t share that with her as I looked at the picture, only pointing out to her if she had any idea how big the dog was.  Christina asked me how could I tell… there was nothing in the photo for reference…I said Exactly! And they did that on purpose.

We called the next day to get the details.  All we found out at the time was that this was his second family, and that this family could not keep him.  We set a date to come and meet the dog.  As we approached the full lengthed clear screen door, we could see the man standing there with the dog.  As if on cue, the dog took off and returned with a tennis ball…like it was SHOWTIME!

Christina spent most of the time asking questions to the man, as I interacted with the dog.  The dog definitely tested me, jumping and gnawing at my long sleeve shirt.  I also watched as he interacted with the man’s two kids…a 4 year old girl and a 7 year old boy….both of which, well…let’s just say I said to myself: In 10 years I will be reading about these 2 kids in a police blotter.  The dog however was playful, loving and gentle with the kids…no matter how rough they were with him.

I finally had a chance to talk with the man.  I will say this for him, between dealing with his kids and what he did for this dog, he already had EZ-Pass access through the Pearly Gates by St. Peter.  It saddened me when he referred to the dog, as MY dog this and MY dog that.  He also said if he could keep the dog and get rid of the other 3 (he included his wife), he would.  I was amazed at the bond he had formed with this dog so quickly.

The man began to tell how he wound up with the dog.  A family had gotten him from a breeder but after a few short months decided to give him up.  The man told me they said it was allergies, but any of you who are reading this that are/were from North Shore, you know “allergies” is the oldest excuse in the book.  The man never agreed to adopt the dog, but he did say he would take a look.  He told me that a woman stopped by with the dog, and within less than 20 minutes, the dog, the cage, the leashes and anything else associated with the dog was dropped off and she was gone.  Realizing that this was pretty much a dump and run, the man decided to do the right thing.  Since he could not keep the dog, he would find him a good home.  He said a family had taken him home last weekend to see how it would work out.  They returned the dog to the man saying they couldn’t keep him.  The man was ADAMENT that the dog be returned to him since he did not want the dog to go from home to home to home and at least give the dog some consistency…like I said, EZ-Pass.  Three families, no takers…I was getting a little worried what we were getting ourselves into.

After we left, Christina and I discussed our little meeting.  As stated previously, we don’t always agree right away.  She was surprised that I was not immediately smitten with the dog and had to have him.  Well, I was…but I never admit ANYTHING right away.  My only trepidation was how the dog tested me…Christina missed out on that.  I told her to go back the next day and interact with the dog.  She did…and the dog did test her.  When Christina got home, she was so distraught at the dog’s actions that she immediately called two of my friends who owned Labs.  I can only imagine my friend’s initial reactions when my wife called, because I hardly call them…what the hell was my wife calling them for!  I give credit to them, they both spent plenty of time calming her fears…shout out to Barry and Coy.  With this new found knowledge of being a Lab owner, Christina was ready….

But only ONE thing…the man had another family who met the dog before us and they were taking him home that weekend to see how it would work out.  That Friday night seemed like an eternity.  It was like watching the clock the last few hours before summer vacation as a kid.  I could not imagine what the rest of the weekend was going to be like.   I told Christina not to think about it…but that is like telling someone not to think of a white horse…admit it, you just pictured a white horse, didn’t you?

We got a surprise call from the man Saturday morning.  Surprise calls are never good…  Christina answered the phone and in a few seconds her face lit up.  The family did not even keep the dog overnight, they returned him after only a few hours…something about “allergies” I believe.  While this was good news, I can’t say that a few alarms didn’t go off in my head.  We set up for that Friday, April 11th 2008, to come over and pick up the dog.

When we arrived at the house, the man was not there.  I remembered the bond he had formed with the dog and understood why.  The wife was the only one there.  I had not met her but I could see she was not a true dog person.  Nonetheless, she told me a few stories the man had not.  These stories shocked, saddened, angered, frustrated (and a few other words I could put here but won’t) me.  As she handed me the dog’s things, there was a choker collar.  Not just any choker collar, but one that would bring the toughest of Rotweilers to their knees.  I asked her if the man had ever used that, she told me no.  However, when the dog came to them, he had it on.  When the man removed it, both he and his wife could see the hair around the dog’s neck had started to wear away and there was a silverish hue around his neck.  She also told me that the dog never barked…NEVER.  I started to get a clearer picture of the dog’s first owners, and for both our sakes, I am glad I never met them.

Fast forward a bit:  I would eventually have to teach the dog to bark.  When he did bark, he recoiled as he expected punishment (now I know why he didn’t bark).  I made sure all he got was hugs and treats every time he barked.  I would say that broke my heart to see him recoil, but I was not prepared for what happened soon after.  The dog slept in his cage at first as we were getting him acclimated to his new environment.  It was not until he slept in our bedroom did we discover something awful.   In a dead sleep, the dog cried out in a loud, chilling howl like nothing I have ever heard before.  I thought something had fallen on him or he got a paw caught somewhere.  I rushed to his bed, but there he was…asleep.  Now, I have slept with many dogs (insert joke here) and heard their dreams expressed in growls, whimpers and other assorted noises…but nothing, I repeat NOTHING comes anywhere close to what we experienced.  I had hoped over time these nightmares would go away….they did not.  Like a veteran who has nightmares of his fighting days…I can only assume these are dreams from his unfortunate puppyhood.  I have never felt so helpless…again, I am glad I never met those previous owners.

Back to the story’s end…

We departed the house.  The dog jumped into our car like he had done it a thousand times.  He never looked back.  We all knew this would be the last time he would have to leave this house searching for a new home.   When we arrived at home, we let the dog in.  Two words:  Bull – China Shop (I guess that is 3 words).   I was getting a feeling of why the previous four homes may not have wanted him.  I said to Christina in jest…I hope we are not getting a lemon!

It is four years later and I can not imagine being without him.

When life gives you a lemon, you name him Max….