Normally the shelter has a pretty wide variety of dogs and when I saw this perky white Shepherd, I asked the employee about it. The dog was "about a year old, she should be about done teething." It was obvious we were not leaving without a dog that day. Rhoni loves dogs and "Pup really needs company!" This dog was so friendly and bright. She missed nothing, kind of a magnet for fools like me, so we made arrangements to bring Pup down to meet this white bundle of energy.
One of the requirements of adopting a dog here in Salina is that you have to register it, get it vaccinated, and neutered. I have no problem with any of that, the year old story went right out the window when the vet saw her. He said she was about six to seven months old and was going to be a very big dog for the breed. He also told us we may not want to buy any new furniture for awhile as her chewing days were long from done. That vet is a pretty smart guy! Her chewing days were not done. She had a genuine fetish for anything containing foam. Several times we would come home to find a couch cushion exploded all over the living room. It is not enough to rip a cushion apart, nope, we have to shred the shreds. Looked like somebody set off a bomb inside the couch and blew couch guts everywhere. That was mild compared to what she could do to a roll of toilet paper, in our house where there is one roll of toilet paper, there is usually a six pack, and she was very thorough at her shredding techniques! I wish I had some photos of that to share, with the big white pup in the middle, chest and head on the floor, rump in the air, big ears set forward and brown eyes begging forgiveness.
Many of you probably think of a white Shepherd as one of the prettiest dog breeds around. I always thought so too, and that really has not changed. I always wanted a dog with lots of drive, one that loved to play and was always up for a game of fetch or tug of war. Somebody once said to be careful what you wish for, because I got it! This animal does not know what quitting time is, she will play, run, tug of war, until everybody is worn out but her. That smart vet told us she was going to be a very strong dog, he grossly understated that! She pulls hard enough to hurt you. The only sane release was to take her to a park and just let her run, and run and run. She was fun to watch, the white streak. I took them at night a lot before I went to work. Pup would be loping along, minding his own business and the sound of approaching paws pounding the ground would interupt his peace. She would hit him, in spite of his growling, and roll him. A quick circle and she was jetting off for another pass. He actually would just lay down and let her sail by, no dummy there.
Just when we thought we had a solution worked out, disaster struck. We had an old military truck, yes, her foam fetish struck it too. I was getting a cell phone antenna, when I returned to the truck, the foam bomb had gone off in the cab. This was one of those CUCV diesel Chevrolets, and there was foam everyplace. I could not believe it! That story was just a side step, where I was headed was disaster struck. Both dogs got to ride in the back of the truck. Normally I tied them in, on this day, we were headed for Kanopolis Geocaching. I was going to check on some caches I had hidden in Western Saline County and my youngest son, Chase, was with me. Chase said, "Dad, Where's Missy?" I looked back and she was gone. She had been in the back 1 and 1/2 miles back. We turned around and started searching. I was just sick, I called Rhoni and she came out to help search. We contacted neighbors, we drove all day the next two days searching, no Missy. This was Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. I was driving out to search Monday when my cell phone rang. A lady had found Missy, actually Missy had found their chocolate Lab. She was reported to be fine other than limping.Missy did not get better the next couple of days, so off to the vet we go. I thought she had blown out a hip, the vet said she probably blew out the knee. He diagnosed her from the way she was standing and her reluctance to walk on that leg. He said hips were very painful and normally a dog will not use a blown hip, the knee has a tendon that runs though the joint, he thought she had blown that tendon. He recommended giving her a few days of rest and bringing her back to get it checked. It was blown, he did the operation and told us not to let her walk on it for a couple weeks. He said that it would be a month before she would want to put weight on it and six months before she could run.
The main fear was that she would blow out the repair. Her energy level was still extremely high and she did not understand this no run rule. In fact, she did not understand any of the vet's rules. She was squatting to pee the first night, romping on three legs with Pup the second night, walking the third day, trying to get us to play tug of war the fourth day, running through the house by the end of the week. It was pretty embarassing to bring our crippled, keep your weight off that leg dog, to the vet's office and have her standing on her back legs to harass the cat on the counter. In spite of all the fears, his operation held. She injured the leg a few times and would limp for a day or two, now she is back to being a free running jet. Her six months are done, on his schedule, she can start running now.
Missy has settled down some, she still requires lots of attention and exercise. She still plays for hours if you will, she still has that tremendous drive. Pup says his life was perfect before we brought her home! If you are thinking you want a white Shepherd or American Shepherd, remember that they require lots of attention and lots of exercise.
How did I handle losing the family pet? Not very well, could not sleep, cried when the kids were not around, it was pretty trying and embarassing. After all, she is just a pound dog.....
