This is Dr. Dog. Although I have shared several pictures of
this guy on G+ I don’t believe I have ever spoken (or written) about him.
Surprising he has not been the subject of several blogs considering he has
several great stories to be told.
Dr. Dog is five years old now; he was about nine months when we brought him home. We found him at the Maricopa County animal shelter. He was bow legged in the front because his frame is so large (even then) but he had been a stray before he was taken to the pound and had become emaciated. His head was several times to large for his body and the poor boy had been there two weeks by the time we found him. Animal Control had taken excellent care of him. He was just so thin and had been alone for so long that he had withered away to nothing.
He was
interested in us when we approached his cage that day but he had his pride, he
was not about to start jumping up at the cage barking and carrying on trying to get
attention so he would be adopted. His attitude was very aloof and low key. He
really did not seem to have much hope left. It was his last day to get adopted before
being put down. I think somehow he knew that and I also think he had more than
enough disappointment with humans during the first nine months of his life.
What should be different now that he would expect anything else? He had stitches
in his head where the kennel workers said they felt he had probably been hit
with a two by four or some similar object. His depression was evident, but he
had that special something that said he would make an excellent addition to any
family and we would be lucky to have him.
We could not
have been more right about him either. This guy has more personality and intelligence
than most people I know. He is an excellent con artist, an accomplished
manipulator, has very clear likes and dislikes, and is by far a more finicky
eater than any cat I have known. Did you see Turner and Hooch? Well let me tell
you the first few days after Tom Hanks brought Hooch home were nothing as
compared to what we had in store for us. He was as honoree as they come and
enjoyed every minute.
He really
bounced to life once we got him in the car to bring him home. It was as if he
was just waiting for confirmation that it was really happening before getting too
excited. But once he determined this was the real deal, this Boxer / Mastiff lunged
forward from the back seat to put the front half of his body on the arm rest
next to us with one front leg lifted and draped over my shoulder as he leaned
on me for support in the manner of two buddies at the bar. He occasionally left
our side to bounce around the back seat in excitement. But the majority of the ride
and for the balance of his life so far he has been right here by us through
everything we have been through. He returned the favor of prolonging his life when
we were camping and almost became victims of a viscous drunk. This crazed man
headed toward us intending harm as we slept. Imagine his surprise when 135lbs
of Dr. Dog came rushing out from under the covers to stop him.
The first
week of getting acquainted was trying for him as well as us. He had never been
indoors as I mentioned and his experience with humans and what is acceptable
and what is not was lacking to say the least. We lived in an apartment and
although we were accustomed to taking several long walks a day it was not nearly
what this guy would have liked. In addition he had no idea that humans are for
cuddling, playing ball, taking walks, and other similar tame forms of
entertainment. Dr. Dog demanded we play
with him like a sibling would. He just was not happy unless he was wrestling
one of us playfully to the ground. And leashes? I assume he had worn one before
because he had no fear of wearing one, but I am very unsure he knew he was. He
walked us where ever he wanted to go, and just as fast as he deemed necessary most
of the time. Fortunately he was still a young dog and his protective tendencies
hadn’t surfaced yet or we may not have survived those first weeks without him
getting into trouble along the way. Fortunate for all of us the only blood lust
he had at that point was for cats but with a little awareness we were able to
save any feline disasters from occurring.
He has lived
up to his name in every respect. He saw me through three days of a heart attack
that I had while at home. I was in denial.
It took what it took before I called the paramedics and was diagnosed. Dr. Dog
never left my side. He has helped me in so many ways to recover from the loss
of my lab that died after 14 years of life as my best friend. I was devastated.
I also suffer from P.T.S.D. and Dr. Dog is my companion and assistance dog in every
sense of the word. The blessings he has given in these areas are immeasurable.
Being disabled now there are long hours frequently that I spend alone at home.
Being disabled it can be trying being alone for large increments of time. Dr.
Dog has alleviated much of that strain as well. He always seems to know what to
do and when to do it. We could not be more blessed.
I could go
on, but I think I have expressed enough. I hope to get my point across about
this. You can imagine seeing him in this
picture, as an emaciated half grown pup he somewhat resembled a pit bull and
that was the breed that he was dubbed at the pound. I saw the Boxer / Mastiff
for now we will refer to as the Moxer breed. This has since been verified by
two veterinarians and several people who are in the canine care business. Thing
is, it would not have mattered to me if he was half zebra; he is Dr. Dog to me.
To you who have formed preconceived notions about pit bulls I want to say one
thing. There are literally thousands of dogs being put to death, having
problems finding good forever homes because of false prejudice. This is true for them all. The Pit Bulls and
the multiple cross breeds that resemble them or have some genealogy that can be
traced back to the Pit Bull.
Years ago
Doberman Pinscher breeds experienced the same kind of discrimination. Remember
the movie “They Only Kill Their Masters”? It is my belief that they were as
blameless as the Pit Bull. There are no bad dogs, only bad owners. And that is
the truth. Dr. Dog could be just as dangerous as any other dog and just as
likely to turn on his owners if he was not cared for properly. I am not saying
that in absolutely every case the owners did something wrong. But I would
venture to guess that in most cases
you would find owner error.
It is pretty
simple. People own guns for self protection, they also own dogs for the same.
Now would you consider it the gunsmiths fault if the owner gets shot with a gun
he bought if he did not take the time to learn about how to handle that gun? If
he carelessly ran around pointing it at everyone every chance he got? Tossed in
the air, always kept it loaded, never cleaned the chamber and did not take the
time to even learn to shoot it properly? No we would all shake our heads and
call him a damn fool. Even our cars are lethal weapons and we are ordered by
law to learn to properly operate a vehicle and carry a license to do so. So
what is so different about a dog?
The main
difference is it is a living creature that lives to please his owner and would
lay his life down without a second thought to protect him. So does it make
sense for us to have one of these dedicated and loving animals who are capable
of doing great damage, and not take one second of our time to learn how to appropriately
relate to these animals to teach them and have an awareness of what their body
language means and needs are? If a three year old were to walk up to you while
you were sleeping and shove a pencil in your anus, how would you respond? So
why do we expect a dog to lay there and do nothing? He was caught by surprise
as well as we would have been. It is instances like this and so many others
that create a momentary lapse in the dogs’ judgment that results in disaster.
The point is, those moments should have been safe guarded from ever occurring.
The landlord’s
stance is understandable. They have insurance companies to answer to and other
residents to consider. I don't know what the answer is short of denying rent.
Until we all show that we are willing to take responsibility for our animals and
that means in every method possible, how can we expect a landlord to take the
risk? Maybe that is one place it could start. I wonder if landlords started a
program for people with aggressive breeds. Instead of denying rent, design a conditional
agreement. Possibly agree to rent to the
family with the animal in question upon completion of an obedience class and
require that the instructor of the class certify that the owner and the dog
completed his class and he deems the animal fit to rent to. This would really be a good idea for all dog
owners no matter the breed. I wonder how
many biting instances and trouble in general would be avoided by something like
this becoming the standard. I know this
would be to some a hassle, but if you want the dog? And let’s face it with so
many families turning to Townhouses, Condos, and Patio Homes, where living in
close proximity is unavoidable it does not make sense not to do this. When we
were all separated by miles and lived on farms letting your dog run loose and
not worrying about obedience and the like was perfectly acceptable. With most of the population living in the
city and urban areas I think we are seeing where this change is screaming for
action.
It never ceases to amaze me what I would have missed had I not brought Dr. Dog home. It is so distressing to think of the thousands of dogs just like him who haven’t known anything but pain and never will because people didn’t take the time to do it right.
