A mattress too small for the big heart
I’m a sucker for animals, no doubt. At any given time, I keep stranded birds, rabbits, dogs, even a chicken. Did I mention I live in New York? Many years ago, it started with collecting Yorkies, somehow. There were Dolly, Phoebe, Petunia, and Ginger all at the same time in our house! Next, we welcomed our first Jack Russell, Susie; looking all like a miniature cow and being so sweet, that I almost renamed her Sugar. From this point forward, there was no way back.
Moving into a house in Las Vegas, I finally had a proper garden for dogs. I went to the shelter to look for a German Shepherd, but there were none that day. As I was about to exit the caging area, a large mixed breed dog in the last kennel threw himself against the chain link fence and whimpered deep into my heart. I was chosen by Snoopy to be his new dad! Not long after that, Monte, another Jack Russell needed saving and there I was, hands full again but very happy with a bunch of grateful dogs in my care.
As life goes sometimes, I had to move back to New York, into a small place with no room for dogs, or so I thought. I decided to leave two dogs with my roommate, only taking the smaller ones with me. It was an unfortunate situation for all involved, but I could not let go of my dogs. My roommate did a good job with them. So good indeed, that the dogs had trouble deciding whom to sleep with, when I came visit. They solved this dilemma by going to bed with me and switching rooms in the middle of the night, to go sleep with their stepmom. Oh, how wonderfully & naturally smart dogs are!
When my roommate moved out, I knew I had to take the two remaining dogs back to New York. Leaving them with yet another caretaker would have taken a huge toll on my relationship with them and possibly their health. I did not take this decision lightly but in the end, it became obvious that my crazy Jack Russell and my 80 lbs. Snoopy were fine with the much smaller arrangement because they had me back. The only thing I’d like to point out here, is, that my small mattress became a bit crowded at night, and I had some explaining to do at home about that dog collection. Needless to say, over a short period of time, the dogs crawled into all of my family members' hearts, and I had to watch their weight because of all the treats they were given secretly.
In my life, dogs come and go. When one passed away, I was made aware of a nine-year-old dog, who’s owner became pregnant and wanted to get rid of the dog. It broke my heart! How can anybody in his right mind do that to a dog with no issues whatsoever? Dogs are not toys! They have a beating heart and feelings! I took the dog because at his age, adoption may have failed.
Well, you may have guessed it, after the trauma this poor dog just went through by being abandoned by his owner of almost a decade, Milo started to act out in my house. He was marking his new territory and challenging my Jack Russell, who, as Jack Russell’s do, was not up to being challenged. I had to become creative with two older males and then some in the house. The first thing I did, naturally, was neutering Milo, which helped a lot managing both issues. Then I added a dash of disciplinary actions to show him how I imagine our life with him going forward and made it clear who the decision maker is. Now, don’t get me wrong, there were other issues, like sneaking out the yard and food aggression, so I wouldn’t recommend a dog with this background to a new dog owner or one with other males in the house and not knowing how to handle the situation.
In the end and after only a few short weeks, we succeeded! Milo’s story goes to show that all dogs can be reversed in their habits, if done correctly. Even though he has been a handful in the beginning, he is now my shadow and never leaves my side when I am home. I could not think of a life without him anymore, neither could my other dogs or Freckles, the rabbit. I am very grateful for my dog collection with the tiny exception, that my small mattress is too crowded again and I must get a bigger bed eventually.
Inspiration:
Marlon saved so many dogs from shelters and the street that, at times, it became a bit overwhelming. But he managed the situations despite moving into a small New York place seemingly unfitting for dogs. Well, he busted that myth.