Thursday, August 18, 2011

My First 365 Project

In human adoption lingo they call this Homecoming Day.

A year ago I was sitting at my work desk, much as I'll be doing today. While I gently rolled through my to do list I couldn't help but overhear my co-worker's increasingly frequent telephone conversations with her husband. He works for Con Edison and that day, out at their yard in a rough area of Brooklyn, the arriving workmen had found what they described as a puppy waiting for them. They tried to feed it potato chips and it wouldn't take them. They tied him up. They took him for walks. They asked around. Finally I couldn't stand it any longer and blurted out, "If no one comes for that puppy by the end of the day they shouldn't take it to a shelter. I'll take it and figure out what to do."

I'll pause here so you can clean the post-guffaw coffee off your keyboard.

Yeah, "figure out what to do."

I know myself and have said a million times that once an animal crosses my threshold it's pretty much mine. The cats I have now are the closest I've ever come to wanting to sell pets to the travelers and I wouldn't give them up without a fight. A pretty big fight. So I hit Facebook and Twitter and was rewarded with donations of a crate, a leash, food, a training leash and recommendations galore. Even if he was mine I couldn't just use Emily's gear on a new dog.

After a discussion of logistics it was decided that the gallant husband would finish his twelve hour shift, pick up the dog, drive it to my house and then proceed home to New Jersey. When he arrived about 7:30pm what leapt out of the box he'd wisely put on the front seat was not a puppy. It wasn't a pit bull, either. Given the neighborhood he'd been found in I assumed he'd be a left over pit bull puppy that someone didn't know how to deal with.

Instead it turned out to be a terrier mix that someone didn't know how to deal with. My personal jury is still out about whether he was abandoned or ran away. There's a good case to be made for both. He was unneutered and a bit of a terror when he arrived but he was wearing a clean, sturdy collar and a flea collar. He's smart and somewhat independent and highly crafty. (And I don't mean he decoupages while I'm at the office.) I can see how someone who expected a lazy lap dog might have been overwhelmed. On the other hand he also likes to wander. He's not afraid to explore and if he decides something needs to be followed it can be hard to get his attention back. That's a terrier thing. It's just as easy to see how he might have weaseled his way out of a backyard and been unknown miles away before he realized he'd left his GPS at home.

There's been a lot to learn over the course of this first year. What follows is a partial list of those lessons.

 - Best guess is that he's a mix of Manchester Terrier (an offshoot of the min pin, which accounts for his body type and some of his mannerisms), Jack Russell Terrier (or possibly fox terrier but his attitude and mannerisms are almost undeniably JRT) and Pug (the curly tail, the underbite and, I think, a certain level of taming of his terrierness). According to a local expert after puggles became popular some breeders tried to mix pugs with jack russell and fox terriers for a sleeker, smaller, equally desirable dog. Ed does look like what might happen if someone tried that and failed.

 - Neutering really is better for everyone concerned. I had him neutered within 7 days of finding him and determining that he had no ID of any kind. Once he had a month for the hormones to leech out of his system the territorial marking and humping were reduced to manageable levels.

 - He is highly trainable and thrives on learning new things. As a result he can jump through a hoop, catch a ring around his neck, crawl, do a handstand against a wall, stand on his back legs, walk on his back legs, sit, lie down, wait, stay, nearly skateboard and leave it. Even if "it" is a juicy chicken bone. No, he can't shake. No, I don't know why. He just doesn't like it.

 - I am not highly trainable. The reason he can't do that handstand without the wall or fully skateboard or probably shake, too, is that I'm a novice trainer. With someone more used to the process I think he'd be making us dinner a couple nights a week. Although at a recent work party for a friend's business someone dropped a tool out of reach and he retrieved it for her so that was pretty awesome. Some shit he just knows and I never taught him.

 - I am overprotective. The combination of having him be my first small dog, continuing to feel Emily's loss so close to the surface, and just being me have less than optimal results on the dog front. I just wasn't able to let him off leash without being totally paranoid and weird. As we all know paranoid and weird is the very best attitude combo to give off when training a dog. Fortunately I got out of the way of the process for a couple of weeks and other, calmer folk prevailed so I have the gift of a dog who is really very good off leash. Except for that thing where he occasionally trees a jogger. Let's not talk about that.

 - He is what my mother calls "a sporty traveler." He likes trains and buses and cars. He'll ride in a bag, in a box, in the back seat, in the front but ideally he likes to travel in your lap.

 - He's just like my old cat, Madam. They are perfect in new situations. For Eddie it's one visit or about 3 days of perfect behavior while he assesses the rules and systems of the joint. That gives him the information he needs to proceed to break down and/or circumvent the aforementioned rules and systems. It's better than Madam. She'd be sweet and dear for exactly three weeks then she'd bite you. You could mark the date on your calendar.

 - He's a barker. We can lessen it but we can't eliminate it. It is now most prevalent when he's playing with other dogs.

 - People who don't like little dogs tend to like Eddie. I cite myself as a prime example. He seems to come across as a bigger dog and he loves big dogs so big dog people know he's one of us.

 - He likes to sleep in crates, in dens, in boxes, under beds, behind cushions, on your lap and most of all, under the covers.

 - He likes to lick faces and his tongue is small enough to fit right up your nose. (Ew!)

 - He can jump really high. Like really high. Like look me in the eye high.

 - He fetches but indoors only.

 - He has airborne allergies.

 - He's a picky eater. However, the only person he will follow out of the park no matter how much I call him is Michelle. Scooter Snacks are magic and don't you forget it.

 - He's a great photographer's dog. If I stop to take a shot he sits next to me. He sits or lies down or stands to have his portrait taken. He's not afraid of the camera nor does he try to lick it.

 - People ask, "How long did it take you to love him?" a lot.

 - I don't have a good answer yet.

 - I still feel the need to work into the conversation that I'm a big dog person even though I have a small dog. I am clearly terrified of being profiled in the dog community.

 - People remark on and ask to approach a small, cute dog way more than they do those things for a German Shepherd mix wearing a prong collar.

 - Some people do not ask at all to approach or touch a small dog.

 - Those people get a biiiiiiig surprise from Eddie.

 - It's pretty awesome to be able to take your dog nearly anywhere and I've gotten to be the kind of person who gets a little resentful of events and places where dogs are not welcome. I'm not proud of it but I have to admit it's true. He's a great addition to any party, I assure you. It's OK, though, I understand if you're not into it.

 - He's not perfect.

 - He's as close to perfect as I need him to be.

All the posts that reference Eddie can be found here.


  1. I love the shot of him running along the walkway...or flying LOL!

  2. He knew there was no stopping Maya and he was terrified of going over the side into the drink so he had to go flat out to beat her and move to the side when he got to the wider part of the dock. It was hilarious. I was surprised I waited to laugh until I'd taken the pictures.

  3. You two are good for each other.

    My Papaw had three jack Russels, but not all at the same time. The first was Penny and she went every where with him. The second looked just like Penny, started out with a new name, but became Penny over time. The third was the same way. The man also drank his coffee out of an aluminum percilator, smoked like a chimney, and lived on Moon Pies and bacon.

  4. love eddie. love this post. yes he's as perfect as he needs to be.

  5. Happy Eddie Day! I love that little hotmess. I love that you love him. I love that he is exactly who he is. No excuses. No anythings. He rocks.

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  7. I am able to relate to this story and enjoyed it very much. My family and I adopted our current dog as a neighborhood stray. Although, he may have adopted us first. He came into our backyard one day and never left, but I guess that's to be expected when you leave food out. That was about 10 years ago and he's been great for us ever since. I wish you and your family many great memories with the dog. P.S. Mine is a Heinz 57 as well.

  8. I think he came to you for a reason....not sure what that reason is! But I do love His Edness and think he is the bomb (for a small dog, of course). Long may he jump!

  9. I love this, Kizz!! You got Eddie about the same time we got Jack. Their stories are similar - rescued runaways, smart, escape artists, non-neutered - and also different.

    I too had a hole in my heart where a really wonderful dog, our old Malamute, was missing, and Jack couldn't fill that hole completely....except now as time has gone by, that hole is getting smaller and smaller and smaller.

    And the more I get to know Jack, the smaller that hole gets.

    I didn't know about the hormone treatment. That's intersting. Jack is a kicker - that is, after marking his territory he kicks dirt and it's a big mess. Wonder if that would help.

  10. I didn't realize that Jack came around the same time Ed did. The neutering takes away the hormone producers but it takes about a month for all the existing hormones to leech out after the surgery. It was a long month being patient and seeing if he was going to calm down or if all his learned behaviors would just stay. Probably some of them did stay but in a more muted way at least. Or maybe he was just better when he got trained. Probably a combination of the two.

    He's a kicker, too! So was Emily. It's sort of hilarious on every dog.

    I found that having Ed made me miss Em more a lot of the time instead of less. I have less time to dwell on it but I am as bitter about her loss as ever and kind of upsettingly fearful about any harm coming to Ed, too, since I know what it's like to lose a dog you love now. It's a hell of a thing. Remind me why we do it again?