It's Not My Dog

One of my favorite sayings, which I created myself, is, "If it follows you around long enough, it's your dog."

Irony follows.

So I have, at present, three dogs, two of whom hate each other. We have made some progress from fighting like demons at every opportunity: walking all three together twice a day has alleviated most of the tension, growling and arbitrary hackle-raising. But still one or the other is always in a cage.

Tigger loves his kennel. He always has loved whatever kennel was his, and happily spent all his leisure time there. He's a famous pirate: he keeps his eye on everything every other dog has. When a dog drops a chewy to go get a drink of water, Tigger pounces. He also stores in his kennel everything that he doesn't want now but might in the future. For example, when we lived in Greece I once caught a nasty whiff of something and followed it back to - I am serious here - a string of old cat guts hidden under his pad, clearly thieved from the last cat Cookie had killed and eaten most of.

But still, he can't live so long in a kennel. He is smart, and he is bored. Boredom and stress combine to make him scratch and chew himself constantly. He looks forward to going to the commercial kennel when I go on TDY, I think, just to relieve the stress. He comes out with no bare spots, all fat and shiny. Then he takes one look at the Devil Dog and starts scratching and chewing again.

The Devil in a Dog Suit hates his kennel. He stands inside with his face pressed to the bars, glaring at me. When it becomes clear that I don't intend to let him out, he curls up with his back to me and falls into a sulky sleep.

It's not the best way for dogs to live. Of course, it beats the ways they were living before I found them; both of them staggering along deserted roads, very near the moment they would give up, lie down, and die. Tigger was a puppy then;the Devil Dog, picked up a year or so later, was about two.

I have looked for another home for Tigger. He is the cute, charming, prancing, bouncing one, with his one silver fang he looks like a pirate prince in a tuxedo. He would be far easier to find a home for. The Devil Dog is ugly and he bites everyone. The only future for him would be PTS. Plus The Devil Dog loves Mabel; Tigger can take her or leave her. So Tigger would be the one to go elsewhere, but whom can one trust?

Susi loves Tigger, but Susi is not here and she can't have a dog at Camp LeJeune. I think she would allow him to go, if she knew he would be safe and loved.

Who will love him? Who will laugh at his antics and soothe his worries? Who will understand his quick glances that pack so much meaning? Of course, animal hoarders are famous for believing that no one else can be trusted to care for the animals, so never let any of them go. I don't believe that, but I do believe that mistakes can happen and it's always the animals that pay the price.

So Tigger chews himself naked with stress, while I fret.