Pets | BulgingButtons

November 29, 2016
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Runaway Roxy

I had the great pleasure of meeting an adorable older gal named Roxy recently. Roxy is a lovely steel grey miniature poodle with a sprinkling of white fur around her mouth, giving her a distinguished look.

The divine Miss Roxy came from our next door neighbors’ yard while we were all out festooning our properties with Christmas lights. I knew she wasn’t their dog, but they had company so I though she belonged to one of their guests. Well, Roxy kept on moving through our yard sniffing this and that and generally ignoring everyone.

A Roxy look-alike

By the time we determined that she didn’t belong to any of us, she was on her way to the next yard. She wasn’t rushing, exactly, but she wasn’t holding still either. We grabbed some of Lila’s treats and tried to coax her, but she was having none of that.

I didn’t want to run up to her, because I was afraid she would bolt, and then she might end up in the street and who knows what could become of her. She had a collar and tag, so we knew she was someone’s pet. At last I caught up to her and was able to scoop her up.

Lucky for me, she was friendly, but I was taking a chance. I was a little leery about getting to her tag, a dog bite is nothing to trifle with, but she allowed me to check it out so I called the number on her tag. No answer. I called the second number, also no answer.

We put her on the leash, where she walked like she owned the block. I figured the best thing to do was start walking back in the direction from where she came. Maybe she would lead me to her home. It was only at that point that I wondered what I would do with her if we didn’t find her home. Gulp.

It turned out that I didn’t need to worry. As soon as we got to the next block, the folks working on the lights on the corner house greeted her with enthusiasm. Between all the in and out while working on the house, they had lost track of little Roxy, and Roxy decided to take herself on an adventure.

I’m glad Roxy’s story had a happy ending. It all goes to prove that my sweetheart is right, given the chance, most dogs will head for the hills, even if they don’t know where the hills are.

November 10, 2015
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Pet Adoption Genius

Finding love in the 21st century affords people more options. No longer does one have to wait for parents or other relatives to provide an introduction to a suitable mate, nor does one have to subject oneself to nights in noisy, crowded bars. Modern people turn to the internet to meet a far wider variety of people than they might normally come into contact with, increasing their odds of finding love.

Not only can we encounter a wider cross-section of the population on the internet, but we can harmlessly flip through profiles, casting aside those that we don’t find suitable with the swipe of a fingertip, with no hard feelings involved. Genius.

Well the amazingly smart people at PawsLikeMe.com took the same concept and applied it to dogs. Not only do they have extensive listings of dogs to love, but they’ve taken the time to gather information about their energy levels, their independence, their focus, and their overall needs. Next, they administer a quiz to prospective pet adopters, and they use the results to match people with pooches.

This is Sunday, isn’t she beautiful?

If you’re a couch potato they’re not going to match you with a high energy dog. If you’re not home for several hours a day you won’t be matched with a dog with a low independence rating. It’s genius, really. Instead of falling in love with a sweet face and then finding out that he or she is a poor match, they find the personality traits that fit best first. From that point you can still fall in love with their sweet faces.

No, I don’t get any kind of anything from them. I just love the idea and wish I could adopt more of the darling dogs they’ve chosen for me (yes, I took the quiz, don’t tell Lila).

If you’re looking for a canine companion, I strongly urge you to check them out. Even if you aren’t, it might be fun to take the quiz and see the sweethearts that could be a good match for you. If nothing else, share their site. The more dogs that go into suitable homes, the fewer homeless dogs in the world, right? It just makes sense.

November 7, 2015
by BulgingButtons 2 Comments

This Dog

This dog saved us. My son and I were reeling from life’s twists and turns, and we were trying to figure out how to be a family of two. I was also trying to figure out how to be a mother to a son who couldn’t always be with me. It was gut wrenching and stressful, but we forged ahead, what choice did we have? We were there for each other, but we were still hurting our own separate hurts.

Then it happened. We met this dog. I wanted an older dog, one who already had some training and wasn’t as high energy. House training and chewing and all the puppy stuff seemed totally overwhelming, so no puppies for us. It seemed like a good plan. We also needed a dog that was cat friendly.

We went to a local rescue organization and we walked the rows. Several animals were too large or too small or not cat friendly. Then there were those that were listed as high energy, so we took a pass on them, too. Finally, at the end of the row there was this dog.

She was adorable. She was listed as moderate energy and unknown with cats. We took her out in the play yard where she was interested in us, but not overly so. We took her into the cat area, where she was very curious, but not aggressive. We took a look at her intake sheet and learned that she was only 8 moths old and had already been returned by another family. Before that, the rescue had pulled her from the county shelter where she was slated to be euthanized. She was healthy and beautiful, how could that be?

We adopted her and she peed in the car on the way home. She also barked the whole way. Loudly. My friend met us at home, and off to the pet store we went, purchasing about $200 worth of supplies. That was on top of her (not cheap) adoption fee. Then, on top of all of that, I signed us up for obedience classes. This dog was going to need to bond with us, and what better way than through classes?

We took this dog home, and found out very quickly that she was insane. Barking, jumping, cat chasing, you name it. The mantra, “she’s only a puppy” went through my head all the time. Patience was the key to working with this dog. We took walk after walk after walk to burn off energy. Over time she became easier to live with. We kept going to training, and we found ourselves enjoying her company more and more.

Funny thing about her arrival, she showed up at a time of upheaval and stress. She created more of both, but by doing that she took the focus off the problem of the demolition of my marriage and family. She became the most urgent stressor, and therefor the one that we gave our energy to. I think that helped us heal more quickly.

This dog has been a wonderful dog. She has outgrown most of her crazy, although she is still cat insane (the kitties have found a nice new home together, and we are now a cat free household). This dog is sweet and loyal and loving. This dog is the reason I walked for miles and miles when my divorce was making me crazy, helping me to clear my head and exercise my body. This dog is a love and a joy, and I’m so glad we have her.