happy dog in 2022

October 13:
14:37

Guess what?!

I’m getting a new puppy!! Ok, well technically he’s not a puppy, he’s like three years old. haha. But still, he’s going to be new to me!

I haven’t had a dog since mine had to be put down [with a possible brain tumor] back in like 2002 or 03. Geezus that’s 20 years ago! Damn I feel old now. Ugh.

Anyway, back story: EC and his compa used to breed dogs when I met them. They haven’t done it in a while, but they still have a couple dogs. One of them is an English bulldog that they bought several years ago and have not been able to breed. They have a female but she’s all wonky with her heats and last time it didn’t take. Not important though.

The dog originally lived at my neighbor’s house, but all of a sudden they had way too many dogs and he wasn’t getting along so he moved to EC’s house. He’s been there ever since and he would stay if it weren’t for the fact that EC also has another, older, bully that’s about double his size. They’re both males and they’ve gotten into a couple fights. The little one is for sure the instigator trying to be dominant. They ended up in a fight a couple weeks ago and the little guy had to go to the vet for emergency dental work. $800 later, it seems he messed up a tooth while trying to bite into the big guy’s leg.

Well it’s October 31st now. Happy Halloween!

Totally forgot I’d even started this entry. I must have been at work, got distracted, and life moved on.

There’s not much left to the story. The dogs fought, both got injured, and EC decided once and for all that they needed to be separated. The original plan was to move him back to his compa’s house since they’re down to two dogs now. This plan was in motion for a couple weeks because EC was super busy with harvest and had to make time to move the kennel and dog. Somehow, a few days before they’d planned to do the big move, we started talking about possibly keeping him at my house. We ran through various scenarios, and brought it up with the boss, and after much thought and discussion we decided to give it a try. Like I said, I haven’t had a dog in a long time, but EC is basically in charge of all the necessities, he’s at my house a lot anyway, and if it doesn’t work out then we go back to the original plan.

I just couldn’t see sending him next door. My neighbor’s aren’t the best pet parents to be honest and I felt so bad for him. Plus I knew he’d probably still continue to fight with their female bulldog and would be stuck in his kennel all the time.

So he’s home with me for now, and maybe forever. He does spend a majority of his time in his kennel but he’s got plenty of space to move around and I try to let him out when I can keep an eye on him. Just yesterday we set up a dog gate between the patio he’s at and the bigger back yard. We have one more set of fencing to set up but after that he’ll be free to roam around the little patio on days we’re home and enjoy the sunshine. I need to clean up a few things in the area to make sure he doesn’t get into anything he’s not supposed to. But he should be good. Someone [cough EC cough] accidentally didn’t close the gate right Saturday night and yesterday morning the dog greeted me at the back door. Seemed fine though. Nothing seemed out of place and every thing looked good.

He’s a great dog! Honestly the more I’m around him, the more I realize how great he is in comparison to other dogs. I mean, he’s a little stubborn, but I’m told all bulldogs are. We just need a little more training to get him on the right track and it’s pretty much only when I want to put him back in the kennel and he wants to lay in the sun. Otherwise, he’s so good! In the couple weeks I’ve had him we’ve already made grand strides in terms of teaching him to wait for his food instead of lunging at it like a starving wolf. haha. Work in progress for sure.

If I can figure out a way to get my knees to a better place [currently in the midst of a pretty bad flare up] then we could both definitely use more walks.

I’m happy to have him though and he hasn’t been too much trouble. He seems content and I’m told EC’s other big dog is living his best life now that he’s alone again. So good. We’re all settled now.

14:21pm

Last updated October 31, 2022