Word of the Month

Dog Induced Headache

[Dawg in-doosed hed-eyk]

noun

A pain located in the head brought on by a domesticated canid.

Occurs in one of two ways:

·         The dog barks so much that a headache is developed simply by hearing it.

·         The dog runs into you and bangs its large, thick scull against your own skull.

 The latter is infinitely more effective, especially if the dog happens to be Mika.

Ex: Mika ran straight into me when I was bent over, now I can feel a dog induced headache developing.

Mika Doesn't Know, but I Do

            This is happening. Mika is in the back seat. Sarah is sitting next to me in the passenger seat. There is a dog in the building waiting to meet us. My hands are clammy. My heart is racing. I grip the steering wheel and close my eyes. I take a deep breath and try to calm my nerves.

Why am I so worried? Mika was fine with Sammy. She really missed him when he passed.

Yes, but she has an issue with all other dogs. She’s too intense. It’s so much to deal with when that energy is in the form of a Pit Bull, how on earth is she ever going to get along with a new dog?

            She has to get along with this dog. I need her to. For both my sanity and hers, she needs a friend. This friend. I wish she would realize she’s her own worst enemy.

            I shake my head and concentrate on breathing. Worrying about what-ifs isn’t going to help. If I go in there nervous, both dogs will know it and it will be over before it starts.

            “Ready?” Sarah breaks the silence.

            “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I turn around and look at my chestnut dog. She cocks her head and smiles at me. “Will you just for once not go crazy when you get in there?”

            She continues to smile.

            I sigh and get out of the car. Sarah gets out too. We leave Mika in the car so we can meet the dog first. Gravel from the parking lot slips between my feet and flip-flops as we crunch our way to the Doggie Day Care building. A petite young woman greets us inside.

            “Ilana?” She asks, pushing her blond hair out of the way.

            I nod, “Hi. Are you Amber?”

            She smiles, “Yep. It’s great to finally meet you. Ready to meet Smokey?”

            We follow Amber to a large room, more like a huge garage. On one end there is a chain link gate. The floor is littered with dog toys and a couch stands in a corner. Smokey is playing with a toy in the middle of the room. He’s bigger than I thought. I guess he weighs about 60lbs, all of which is muscle. His ears are cropped so they stand up and what’s left of his fur is black, with white on his chest. For some reason, he’s missing the majority of his hair past his shoulders.

If I could change his name more drastically, I’d probably call him Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, he’s already 11yrs old, so if I want to change his name, and I definitely  do, I need to change it to something that sounds similar to Smokey.

            The woman in the room with Smokey comes over to us and extends a hand, “I’m Cindy, we’re glad you’re here. This guy really deserves a home. He’s such a good boy.”

            We introduce ourselves and then Amber calls Smokey over. He lumbers up and sniffs us. The sniffing is loud and sounds more like he’s snorting at us. I pet his head since it’s the only place that has hair. “Do you know why he doesn’t have hair?” I ask.

            “No clue,” Amber says, “He doesn’t have a thyroid problem, that’s already been checked.”

            “It’s so weird,” Sarah says.

            “His old owners must have shaved him. It’s called ‘the ghetto flea treatment’. If there isn’t any hair, there must not be fleas, right?” Cindy is dripping sarcasm.

            “Do you think it will grow back?” I’d definitely prefer a dog with hair, although with the queen of brats in the car, I can’t afford to be so picky. If Smokey is everything else I need, then he’s coming home with or without hair.

            Cindy shrugs, “It’s hard to tell.”

            “Humm,” I frown. Then address the hairless wonder, “Well buddy, ready to meet your queen?” He looks up at me and wags his bald tail.

            Amber comes with us to the car. I open Mika’s door and put on her muzzle.

            “Just be good. Please like him. Please.” I tell her. I’m not sure she needs the muzzle, she isn’t actually aggressive. She’s just dominant and excited and it comes out as perceived aggression when she so much as sees another dog, usually. I think the muzzle is more for my nerves than to prevent any actual attack on Smokey.

            “What a pretty girl!” Amber says.

            “Thanks,” I say, trying to reign in my 50lb muscle dog. She’s smelled the other dogs and is straining at the leash to find them. I give the leash a jerk. “Quit it!” I tell Mika, “Relax,” that’s for both of us.

            We make it across the parking lot and inside the building in fits because I refuse to let myself be dragged. But when Mika sees Smokey, she makes a b-line for him. In a few moments she’s almost to him. I grab her collar and yank it back. “Enough!” I glare down at my dog and set my jaw. The way she’s acting, you’d never know she was loose leash trained. “Sit Down.”

            Mika does not sit. She stares at Smokey. Her hair is completely on end. I pinch her hips and she sits down. When I have a good hold on her, Cindy leads Smokey on his leash over to Mika so he can sniff her.

            Mika never takes her eyes off Smokey. ‘Grrrrrr’ rumbles from her throat. I yank her collar in a quick motion to snap her out of it. Smokey just sniffs her and wags his tail.

            When he’s made a full circle, Cindy has him sit so Mika can have her turn to sniff. I lead Mika over to Smokey. The fur on her back that was standing on end begins to fall as she sniffs. They seem to be doing fine together so at a signal from Cindy, I drop the leash. Cindy does the same.

            Free from human restraint, Smokey bounds into the center of the room and does a few laps around the perimeter. Mika joins him. I can tell she’s happy to have a canine friend again.

            “Do you think I should take her muzzle off?” I ask the ladies.

            “I think so, she doesn’t seem to have a problem with him,” Amber says.

            I call Mika over and relieve her of her muzzle. Her first reaction is to grab a toy and tease Smokey with it. I laugh at my ridiculous queen. Then a dog walks past the chain link gate.

            Mika drops the toy. My nerves come rushing back.

            Both Mika and Smokey run to the gate. Smokey barks, a deep, slow bark. Mika’s bark is not slow. Her barks are fast and loud. She pushes against the gate. Another dog walks by. Mika pushes harder at the metal, her bark growing in intensity. She looks at Smokey and for one awful moment my stomach drops. She’s going to redirect. She’s going to attack. I can’t even imagine what breaking up a serious Pit Bull fight would take.

            And then the moment passes. There is no fight, not even a growl directed towards Smokey. The intruding dogs are gone and forgotten.

            A wave of relief washes over me. This is going to work. I’m getting another dog, or rather, my dog is getting a dog. Just as soon as I change that ridiculous name of his.

                                                                       ***

Smokey, now Scottie, was 11yrs old when he was dumped in a kill shelter in Chicago, IL, and put on death row simply because of his age and breed. The amazing people at Chicago Land Bully Breed Rescue (CBBR) sprung him from “jail” and he hung out at a doggie daycare in Madison, WI until we met him and gave him his forever home. There are plenty of other incredible dogs waiting for their chance at a happily ever after. If you think your pack might have room for one more and for more information, visit CBBR’s website http://www.cbbr.org/

*The term Pit Bull is used loosely in this story. There is actually no Pit Bull dog breed. Pit Bull as a term is used to describe any dog with the bully breed characteristics of a muscular body, strong, set jaw, large head, etc.

Mika Doesn't Know

Ilana is nervous. I can feel it. More nervous than she’s ever been. The feeling seeps off of her and wraps over me. It makes my hair stand on end. I crawl up to her from my spot at the foot of her bed. She’s not asleep. I’m not sure she ever slept last night. She kept tossing around and wouldn’t let me on the bed until almost daylight. I lick my nose and smush it in her face.

            “Eww Mika!” Ilana sits up and wipes her arm across her face. “You’re so gross!”

            “Arwoof!”

            “You need to go potty huh? Come on.” She drags out the come on as she pushes her covers off and gets out of bed.

            Moments later I’m outside doing a sniff-sweep of the yard perimeter before bathing in the summer sun. When she calls me back in, she’s changed from night clothes to day clothes. Day clothes don’t hide nerves any more than night clothes do. I begin to wonder why she’s so nervous but then breakfast falls into my bowl and Ilana says eat.

            When I’m done with breakfast I sit and shake for my treat. Then I start to wonder again about Ilana’s unease but she pulls out my collar and leash. WALK! But then she takes out my harness. CAR RIDE! Even better! I’m so excited to go with her that I barely register the muzzle that slips into Ilana’s purse before she opens the door for me and I jump in the back seat. She buckles me in. My whole body is wiggling with excitement.

            “Be a really good girl today, ok? I really need you to be such a good girl,” Ilana says and pats my head. She’s trying to control her fear but she’s barely made a dent.

My ears droop. What’s going on? But then we’re out of the garage and the houses and trees streak by and I forget again what it is I’m supposed to be worried about.

We pull into a house I’ve never seen and Sarah comes out. She’s worried too, but not nearly as much as Ilana. Sarah is more excited than scared.

Sarah! I wag my tail and try to jump into her seat when she gets in. I’m prevented by my buckle.

“Hi Miki,” Sarah laughs. She pets my head. “Big day for you and you don’t even know it.”

“Mika, get back and stay,” Ilana says to me. To Sarah she says, “Thanks for coming. I’m not sure I could handle both of them alone if something happens.”

“You bet. I’m excited to meet him,” Sarah says.

Him? Who are they talking about?

And then we’re moving again and this time the houses and trees disappear and all I can see are cars. Fast cars. I watch for a while out the window until I get tired. Worrying about Ilana and trying to figure out what’s going wore me out. I drift off to Ilana and Sarah singing along to the radio.

When I wake up, the car is coming to a stop. The girls get out and disappear into a strange big building. Then they come out again with another woman. Ilana opens the car door for me and puts on my muzzle. “Oh Miki, just be good,” she says. Then she unhooks my harness and leads me out of the car.

Dogs. I smell dogs. My nose is doing over time. I strain at the leash.

Ilana holds me back. She shakes my leash, “Relax.”

I’m not sure if that’s for me or her.

            “She’s so pretty!” The new lady says. Normally I would want to meet her but I’m overwhelmed at the moment.

            “Thank you,” Ilana says, “I really hope this works. The muzzle is just a precaution. Like I said, she’s not aggressive, just—particular.”

            “I know. I’m sure it will be fine. He’s such a good boy. If I didn’t already have two, I’d take him in a heartbeat.”

            We walk in fits and starts to the building. Ilana is constantly reminding me not to pull and to relax and asking me what she just said.

            It’s just so hard to listen. There are dogs in there and I have to get to them.

            We walk inside and the lady escorts us to a big room. At one end there is a chain link gate that look out onto a yard. Toys are scattered all over the floor and couch is in the corner. There is also another woman holding a leash. My eyes follow the curve of the lash down to the big dog at the other end. I make a beeline for that dog.

            Ilana yanks me back before I make it, “Enough,” her jaw is clenched. “Sit down.”

            I don’t move. I want that dog. I stare at him. He looks down at me and wags his tail. Ilana pinches my hips to get me to sit. She holds me still, “Stay.”

            The lady with the other dog brings him close so he can sniff me. He’s sniffing me first! I can’t believe this is happening. I’m the boss! He has to know it! I follow him with my eyes. “Grrrrrrr,” escapes me.

“Uh uh,” Ilana jolts the leash a little.

The dog has made a full circle around me without saying anything. The lady with his leash makes him sit. Then it’s my turn. I want to rush him but I think better of it. I try not to let Ilana’s nerves influence me. I walk over to him. “I am Mika. This is my human.”

“I don’t know my name,” he says, “I used to have one. Then I had another one. So I don’t really know. Do you think she could be my human too?” His tail beats out a rhythm on the floor.

“Don’t you already have a human?” I indicate the woman holding his leash.

“Oh she’s not my human. I used to have some. But then they took me to a place with lots of dogs and cages and left me there. I’m not sure why.”

I relax a little. The same thing happened to me, before Ilana found me. I feel my leash slack and hear it drop to the floor. The same thing happens to his leash.

As soon as his leash is dropped, he bounds out and around the room. I follow him. I forgot how much fun a friend is. I forgot how much I miss Sammy. Sammy. I pause in our romp. I look at Ilana. Then I look at this new dog. Sammy shared Ilana with me. Maybe I should share her with this dog. Maybe.

“I can’t believe how well she’s doing,” I hear Ilana say. I can feel her relief flushing out the fear.

“I know,” Sarah says, “And look how cute they are.”

“Do you think I should take her muzzle off?”

            “Let’s try it,” one of the ladies says, “She doesn’t seem to be having an issue.”

            “That’s because he’s so easygoing,” the other lady says.

            “Come here Miki,” Ilana calls and slaps her thigh.

            I run over to her and she takes my muzzle off. I stretch my mouth and grab a toy. I run over to the dog and shake it in his face. He tries to gab it. I growl and dance away. He tries again but I’m faster than him. How fun this is!

            Suddenly a dog walks past the gate. I drop my toy and run up to the gate. He is with me. His cut ears swivel forward, listening. I wonder why someone cut his ears and shaved him. There is a lot about humans I don’t understand. Another dog is walking by. I push at the gate and growl at the intruder.

            He barks, a deep, confident bark. A warning to the other dog.

            The interloper passes. I am still annoyed. But I am not mad at the dog next to me, only the interrupter.

            I lift my nose and sniff the air. I still smell dogs. I do not smell Ilana’s fear. It has all disappeared.

            “Miki,” Ilana calls. I leave the gate and come to her. “What do you think? Should we take the old man home?”

            I wag my tail and try to lick her exposed leg.

            Sarah laughs, “I guess that’s a yes.”

            Ilana smiles, “I guess so.”

            “Come here Smokey,” the lady who came to the car calls. The dog comes over and she hugs him. “You be a good boy. You’re going home now.” He wags his tail and snorts.

            “Are you going to keep his name?” The other lady asks.

            “I was thinking about Scottie,” Ilana says. “It sounds similar to Smokey so I think it won’t be too hard of a change.”

            “Plus now you’ll have Mika and Scottie like from the movie Euro Trip,” Sarah adds.

            “True,” Ilana says.

Everyone laughs.

Sarah takes Scottie’s leash and Ilana takes mine. We all walk out to the car and Ilana opens the back. There’s a crate in there I didn’t even notice before. “Up,” she says to Scottie. He jumps up and into the crate. “Good boy.”

Next she lets me into the back and buckles me in. Then she and Sarah spend some time talking outside.

I lean over the seat and try to look at Scottie through the holes in his crate. “I’ve decided that I’ll share Ilana with you. But understand that she was mine first and that will always be the way it is.”

“No worries,” Scottie says, “I’ll just be happy to be home.”

“Good. Then you’re going to love it. I bet we can even get some fries out of them when they stop for lunch.”

“Fries?”

“Oh boy, have you been missing out!”

Ilana and Sarah get in the car and soon we’re passing houses and trees again. I keep a look out for a food building. I’m sure they’re going to stop. Scottie has so much to learn and I get to teach him. I finally have a friend again. This is going to be great!