About A Dog (Part 4)

I tried to remember the sequence of various events, but over a period of fourteen years, and many different occurrences, it's difficult to remember exactly what happened when, and which event preceded another. Let me simply say that Sydney, in her younger years, came to be known as Houdini. Early on it was assumed that she could simply be contained in a simple fenced in enclosure. Digging her way to freedom proved that as a total fallacy in logic.

I remember at some early point, and perhaps immediately following the enclosure idea, I purchased an underground fence system. For any who do not know, this is simply a system with a wire buried in the ground, defining the perimeter of confinement, together with a receiver which broadcasts a radio signal through the wire and a receiver collar which converts this signal to a mild shock. I say mild, but if like me, you have ever had the misfortune to receive a shock from one of these devices, they don't actually feel all that mild. (And this from one who used to be an electrician and frequently received shocks from 110 volt electrical circuits). So, I installed this system, spent a week or so training Sydney to the location of the boundary, and the consequence of trying to cross it. She took to the training pretty well, always was a ready and quick learner. We were set. We had a new system of confinement, Sydney now had the run of the entire yard, and though I was a little worried, the training had looked promising. Great! Things went well, and the system worked as advertised. We went to work and school every day, and Sydney was waiting for us every day when we arrived home, safe and sound. The one problem, was that this dog was simply too smart for her own good. The receiver collar didn't simply deliver a shock, but gave a warning sound a few feet before the area where the shock was delivered. It didn't take Sydney much time at all to discover this fact, so she would get proceed to a location where the collar would beep, and drain the battery, so eventually I was coming home to find a totally drained battery, one which previously had lasted for a week before needing charging. Did I realize what was happening? No. Simply thought the battery was defective, so I replaced the collar, but the problem kept occurring, and it took me some time to discover what was actually going on. I charged the collar every night, and life went on as usual. Then one day we came home, and Sydney was nowhere to be found, She had apparently drained the battery early enough that she realized that she could roam at her leisure. Now we had problems.

I can't remember exactly how early in Sydney's time with us that this event happened, but remember the event pretty clearly. We were at home, life was taking its normal course, and I heard one of the most horrible sounds, a screech of tires, followed by a dog yelping. Fear! Sydney was nowhere to be found, but my wife's family, who live across the road from us, heard this also and saw her running onto their property. So we began the search. The teary, nauseating search for what I knew was an injured and possibly near death loved one. We searched everywhere. Well, I suppose that is absurd, but we did look for a long time, to no avail. Eventually reality set in with the darkness and we were forced to give up. Devastation. By this point, even though this was "just a dog" and simply "an outside dog" Sydney was an important part of our family, and we were distraught. Sleep came slowly and fitfully that night. Sometime during the night, my wife's brother called, Sydney had ended up at his house and was bedded down in his field, so off we go to see how bad the damage was. She appeared unhurt, externally at least, so we brought her back home, She had this odd cough though, and we were worried about internal damage, but it was the middle of the night, and nothing could be done. I say that based on the way I felt at the time. Years later, I would wake the vet at any hour, find an emergency clinic at any distance, and do anything I could to save this friend, but my mind and soul had still not fully evolved at that time. So we babied her, listened and worried through the night, but by morning, you could never guess that anything ever happened.

About A Dog (Part 3)

So we did it. We adopted a dog. A dog which would stay outside, like dogs do. The shelter, not knowing of course what breed she was, told me that they believed that Sydney, her new name, maybe her first and only name, was an Australian Shepherd mix, thus the moniker, Sydney. Yes, aren't I imaginative? We, at the time, didn't have a computer, I didn't even have a clue how to use a computer, so there wasn't this wealth of readily available information at my fingertips to see how accurate this assumption was. I will admit that her coloring did have that Australian Shepherd look.

My wife, in her infinite wisdom, thought that having a kitten, again, readily available from irresponsible owners, would be a good idea also, so we had a kitten to go along with our approximate six month old puppy. Things started out well, or as well as I reasonably expected. A simple, chicken wire enclosure was hastily constructed to contain the dog at night and while we were away, and other than the whining at night, things went fairly well, with the few expected escapes. Sadly, the kitten didn't fare very well. Sydney from the beginning treated the cat much like a play toy, and one Sunday morning while my wife and the kids were at church, I found the play had gotten a bit too rough, and the poor kitten had suffered an early demise. The body was quickly removed, before everyone returned home, and the story of the runaway kitten was born.

When Sydney was first seen by her veterinarian, the vet. commented that she believed that Sydney was predominately a Whippet, and as I was grudgingly dragged into the computer age, this seemed likely to me also, not just because of appearance, but later comparison of know behavior. Whippet's, by the way, are sight hounds which were bred to catch small prey, so the kitten incident was something to be expected, had we been more aware. Many other small animals have suffered similar fates in our yard over the years, one of the most amazing, a rabbit which was chased down on a fresh two foot snowfall. Yes, Whippet indeed.
(Continued)

About A Dog (Part 2)

Yes, I admit it. I lied. When I adopted Sydney, they asked and required that she be allowed access to our home, especially when it was particularly hot or cold, and I said she would, but never intended to live up to that agreement. She was a dog, and a dog belonged outside, just look at nature and the ancestor, the wolf.



Back to my story. As I worked every day in Chapel Hill, I decided to stop at the animal shelter and see what dogs they might have available for adoption. I think all of the dogs I had growing up were mutts, either strays that appeared and stayed, or those given away from irresponsible owners who let their un-spayed dogs breed at will, and always had a new litter roaming around. So, I stopped by the shelter, and looked at what was available. Plenty were available unfortunately, and I know that many who were there likely died soon after I had made my choice. I came upon this very beautiful merle blue colored dog, who was desperate for attention (this should have been a warning), and spent several minutes with her in her enclosure. I wasn't completely sold, but was certainly interested. As I tried to leave, this poor little creature whined and whimpered, so I immediately re-entered and calmed her down. The clues were certainly staring me in the face, but I was too ignorant to realize what was in store. Eventually, I was able to tear myself away, but the decision had been made. I knew this dog was coming home with me, it was simply a matter of letting the rest of the family know, and completing the legal arrangement for adoption.
(Continued)