I’m well known as an animal lover within my circles and I can’t remember a time when we didn’t have pets of some sort or another. I have been the mistress of both dogs and cats and for a very brief period, gerbils (not to be advised). My ideal animal is one who loves me to distraction and doesn’t beg too much when I’m eating. Ollie fits the bill here perfectly (apart from the not begging too much when I’m eating). Ollie is a Cavachon which is a cross between a Bichon Frise and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. As a breed they are loving, very clever, very cuddly, good guard dogs i.e. noisy and don’t shed a lot of hair so are good for those with allergies. I say breed, I’m old enough to remember when a cross breed was also known as a mongrel! We’ve had him since a pup and he’s now 3 years old.
However, the newest addition to the family is a completely different proposition. Looby Lou came to us as a rescue dog having been rescue from a puppy farm in Ireland. I cannot think how bad her life was before she came to England but she has been with us now for 3 months. She has put on weight and grown stronger with regular walks and now runs after Ollie as she has realised he is doing what dogs do on walks and she does her best to emulate him.
She has taken to Mater very well and follows her around from one end of the Castle to the other and is distraught when Mater has a bath and she is locked outside (she won’t go in the bathroom at all). Looby, though, has taken against me with a loathing which can only be imagined. The only two times during the day when I approach acceptability is when we go out for a walk and I can put her lead on or if I’m eating when she will approach me to get a titbit. Her usual response to either of these things is to do the “Dance of Anticipation” which involves dancing on her back legs whilst making a “rorroror” noise. Other than that she cannot come near me and regards me with a stink eye which if the evil eye existed would see me 6 feet under. I do not know why she has taken against me like this but she is practiced at getting her revenge for various slights she thinks I have done against her. Her usual revenge is to have a wee in my bedroom. This happened when I gave her a bath and then when I clipped her hair. I’ve taken to locking my room against her incursions but sometimes she manages to get through with Ollie. When we were accepting visitors her other speciality was acting startled whenever I came near and running away at high speed, a look of terror on her face. I’m assuming that this feeling will go with time but I’m not sure. I know it’s only 3 months but it is disheartening. I’m being made to feel like a dog batterer rather than a dog whisperer.
I don’t regret getting Looby for a moment. She is a beautiful, gentle dog who is finding out where she is in the world and the joys that world can bring. I bitterly regret that her early life was so dreadful that she cannot look upon people without thinking that they are going to cause her pain. With time and patience she may start to learn that she is safe and will be well looked after for as long as she lives. And if she could stop weeing in my bedroom I’d also be eternally grateful.
Until next time Stranglings…