Demon Dog: Adopt One

click, click, click, click, click

I stop.  The sound stops.  I continue walking.

click, click, click, click, click

The sound keeps pace with my steps and reverberates on the hardwood floor.  I stop.  The sounds stops.

Is it a ghost or monster or psycho following me in my own home?

If this were a horror movie, I would turn around and see something terrifying, something that would scare me to death.  Instead, I see the creature of the night adorable dog.

The creature followed my every move. I couldn’t get away…

She’s cute, right?  Don’t be fooled.  Haven’t you seen MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL?    That bunny rabbit had “nasty, pointy teeth.”

This elderly furry thing that my daughter adopted from the SPCA has the latent ability to kill every living organism in a 5-mile radius clear a room with her, um, stench.  I found a sensitive-stomach kibble that killed the horror movie monster–at least until the dog eats something she shouldn’t.

This dog also has the ability to sit and stare.  It makes us wonder if there isn’t a Cujo somewhere inside that little 18-pound furball.

The creature stared. Silent and deadly.

In all seriousness, my daughter did a loving thing by convincing us to let her adopt this 11-year-old dog.  (Granted, my husband was out of the country at the time.  In my defense, he could have said, “No, we already have a dog” in any text message or phone call.  He didn’t.)   My daughter paid for the adoption fee and most of the supplies with her own money.  She even parted with old toys in a garage sale to earn enough money to pay us back for other doggie incidentals.

If you’re thinking about adopting an older dog, there are a few things you should know so you don’t have a horror movie waiting to happen:

1. It will take awhile for the dog to get acclimated.  Did she miss her previous owner?  I think so.  She didn’t make a sound for the first two months.  She watched our first dog constantly.  The day she saw another dog walking by our house, she flipped.  This little poodle mix had quite a bark.  It was about that same time that she started playing with her dog toys.  She was incredibly playful.  Some dogs settle in sooner.  Don’t be surprised by the dead calm stare.

2.  You may have to change the dog’s food.  There are no words to describe the noxious fumes that wafted throughout the house killing us slowly.  Whatever you do, don’t feed it after midnight.  (Did you see the movie Gremlins? Gizmo was cute.  His fed-late-at-night offspring, not so much.)

3. Prepare to care for an older dog. Sigh.  She doesn’t always make it until we get home from work or through the night.  In the middle of the night during the bewitching hour, she lets me know with quiet whines haunting sounds that she needs to go out.  She also didn’t know that the grass was the place to go.  My daughter gets to clean the patio often.  At least the new food made her “presents” easier to clean up.

4. Discover the dog’s tricks.  She doesn’t come when called even though we kept her name.  She wasn’t crate trained (still isn’t).  She didn’t sit, shake paws, or lay down. With little treats, my daughter learned that her new dog wasn’t as untrained as we thought.  Also, if you have another dog in the house, the new dog will probably follow the other dog’s lead while she insidiously infiltrates the family.

5. Love the dog.  My daughter felt compelled to rescue this dog.  She loved her from the moment she saw her.  This “pup” is just the right size for my younger daughter to walk, too.  Quirky, but adorable.  I got nothing for the horror movie theme here.  She’s a good dog.

Links:

  • My friend Nicole recently posted about her newly-adopted dog.
  • Click here to see what the ASPCA says about older dogs that need new “forever homes.”
  • The Senior Dogs Project website has some good information, too. I don’t completely agree with their #10 on the top 10 list though.  It’s rare for both dogs (now 11 and 12 years old) to sleep through the night, unless I stay up late and let them out before I go to bed.   And to think I was thrilled when the kids stopped waking me up every night.

My daughter and I joke about the “demon dog” and her strange, horror-movie ways, but we both agree that she is sweet and was worth adopting.  I kinda like the click, click, click sound she makes when she walks on the hardwood floors.

Do you any pet adoption stories to tell?  Please share in the comments below.  🙂

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