The first dog I myself ever owned was a stray; a friend of mine found her running loose in a schoolyard, and all attempts to find an owner failed. She couldn't keep another dog; her (very) old puppy wouldn't hear of it... and so I was asked to let her stay at my place until "pick up" could be arranged....
Jersey was a short haired Australian Shepherd... meant to be a working dog, and OMG was she smart - way too smart to be a dog!
She was also absolutely terrified of any and all males - eventually we found out that she had "belonged" to some wannabe bikers - kept chained, and beaten and kicked regularly. Yeah, we're tough. Way tough. (Their mommas must be so proud!)
Anyway - somehow she had gotten free and run away and ended up at my place. Rumour has it that there was some talk about taking her back - but I was then a single mom and 'hurting' (it was after car accident & before recovery) and clueless - the person who eventually told my friend's (drug dealing) husband the back story said they'd decided to just leave me alone. Thank goodness!
Anyway.... we named her Jersey and with the help of my brother and an amazing veterinarian, eventually she (mostly) got over her fear of males, and became manageable. Her eyes cleared up: when I got her, both eyeballs were blood red, apparently from being kicked in the head too often.
She was a great dog - okay, well maybe that's not a good word to describe her. Actually, she was, once she came into her own, a complete and utter pain in the posterior.
Jersey could:
- undo leash clips. Many, many leash clips. Also doors, cages, etc. Even cages with multiple clips and other hardware all over the place. One time, I had left her in house alone and she did not approve. Could not undo the deadbolt, and I had completely blocked the other door. So she dug the entire deadbolt mechanism out of the door. Honestly! She also figured out how to climb fences. Very tall fences. There are pictures (somewhere; not on computer, unfortunately)
- Open the refrigerator door. Whole blocks of cheese, a dozen eggs, litres of milk...whatever.... not only could she open MY refrigerator door - but once she figured out that refrigerators provided all sorts of yummies, she opened every refrigerator door she got near. When we got a second dog (named Dioge), Dioge, when hungry, would go to the fridge and bark for Jersey to come open the door for her. When Dioge was finished making sure that there was nothing good, Jersey would CLOSE IT AGAIN.
- Keep my kids in line. Once upon a time, my little darlings were so inclined to bicker and fight that I could not leave them home alone. At all. Even though they really were old enough. But then Jersey decided that there would be order. She was the best nanny I ever had - also the only, but whatever LOL - no hitting or hurting allowed.
Unfortunately, eventually Jersey learned soooooooooooo much about the ways of the world - and locks and clips and fences and especially windows and doors and drywall - that she was just not manageable any more. Unless I could keep her with me 24/7 - which I couldn't. :(
Ah, she was indeed a total pain in the arse.
She was also, however, a great dog!
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Comments: 12
I do agree the ones who are unplanned for are usually the best! They wander up when we need them most!
Broke my heart, but I had to work, and the kids had to go to school and have lives - we couldn't possibly arrange 24 hour care for her.
don't know where they are though, unfortunately.
Next time you do a doggie theme I will have to write about Dioge. She was a sweetheart. Much easier to manage - and she liked to go out in the boat with me.
I miss her too.