I have to say that dog is woman’s best friend. When I left my husband one of the first things I wanted was a cat. My middle child, Scott was asthmatic and the doctor said no. I ended up getting Surely Not at the local pound. She was given that name because she’s surely not a cat. I wasn’t too thrilled but the kids were absolutely delighted with her. For some reason she attached herself to me and only me. I call her my little wart. She became gray and wizen looking at a very young age. With her ruff, Poodle hair butt, and the soft undercoat of a Pomeranian she is a mess. I believe her to be a poodle, Pomeranian, terrier mix but I am not sure.
In the morning when I let her out to potty, she would throw herself onto the porch with the charge of tiger. She would bark ferociously at people passing by. They would stop, look, and laugh but this was not a deterrent. She has the heart and soul of a lion. She was the defender of the home. She was the Queen.
Surely Not knew that I couldn’t cook. Perhaps it was the plateful of leftovers that I gave her and she didn’t eat. That was no problem for her because she would faithfully run away from home everyday at 5:00 to my mother’s house and eat there. Then she would either come home or I would get her when I came up to visit. She wouldn’t even eat the dog food I gave her because she was that afraid of the food I handed her.
When Scott’s asthma was under control, I went out and picked up a cute little kitten. Surely Not immediately took to my bed, moaning and groaning. It sounded like someone was dying in there. Then she stopped eating and would only drink out of the bathtub faucet. She would lick the faucet until her tongue bled. Then she started pooping and peeing all over the place. I took her to the vet. The vet asked if there were any changes in her life because she was having a doggie nervous breakdown. The kitten was returned and Surely Not returned to her old self.
I was a foster parent doing respite care. I had to take in two small boys under the age of 7. This too made her very nervous and neurotic and she finally nipped one of the boys. As he sat there crying I comforted him and asked him if I needed to find a new home for Surely. He said yes and she was taken to my mother’s. That is when I realized that Surely Not had zero tolerance for small children and babies. I went out and found an old cat and Surely Not was okay with sharing her home with the Spookster. Later I added four more old cats and she tolerated that well. If you brought in a baby cat or even a baby human she had no tolerance for it and would do her pooping, groaning, licking, vomiting routine until the offensive infant was removed. She is the only baby in my world as far as she is concerned.
She has been with me as I raised three children to adulthood, she was my comfort during my divorce, and she was on a few of my adventures. The reason why I say a few adventures is because when I took her anywhere she knew immediately when we left town. The minute we would cross that invisible barrier known only to her she would start whimpering, groaning, panting, and shedding copious amounts of fur. Her breath was atrocious. So driving with her was not pleasant even when the kids would roll down the windows. I faithfully maintain her dental care and that didn’t help. To give you an idea of how bad her breath is, on one of our adventures out of town I noticed that the disagreeable odor was gone. I made a comment about it and that is when my daughter confessed to giving her several breath mints before we got in the car.
My favorite Surely Not story involves my father. It is not something she did but something I did to insure her place in my parent’s home. My dad had cerebral palsy, peripheral neuropathy, and was confined to a wheelchair the last 25 years of his life. Every time Surely Not would come to mom and dad’s house he would get nervous. He swore up and down that she was going to potty on his rug. So I went to the local convenience store and picked up a candy bar called “cow patty.” It did look like a big cow turd. I sat in the car and carefully broke it down to a Surely Not looking turd and snuck it in the house. When dad’s back was turn I laid it down where I knew he could see it. Then I said “bad dog Surely, bad dog.” Dad immediately swung around, and focused right in on the fake Surely Turd. I quickly bent down and picked it up and took a bite. It was a miracle, he actually stood up. To his last day with us he swears he knew the turd was fake. From that day forward Surely was welcome to his home. He never ever complained that she was going to potty on his rug. He did meet her one time with a roll of duct tape going “here puppy, puppy, puppy.” Her barking drove him nuts.
She is now 14 years old, and starting a new phase in her life. When we purchased the RV and took our first road trip with her and we crossed that invisible line she tuned up. Fortunately 28 feet dissipated the bad breath. We put her two favorite pillows on the couch and one between the seats. She whined, moaned, and cried the whole day. I told mom I don’t know what to do because I felt at that time this was too much on her. It took her two days of traveling before she realized that this was her new home. As long as she has me then anyplace is home. It goes to show that old dogs can teach us new tricks.
In the morning when I let her out to potty, she would throw herself onto the porch with the charge of tiger. She would bark ferociously at people passing by. They would stop, look, and laugh but this was not a deterrent. She has the heart and soul of a lion. She was the defender of the home. She was the Queen.
Surely Not knew that I couldn’t cook. Perhaps it was the plateful of leftovers that I gave her and she didn’t eat. That was no problem for her because she would faithfully run away from home everyday at 5:00 to my mother’s house and eat there. Then she would either come home or I would get her when I came up to visit. She wouldn’t even eat the dog food I gave her because she was that afraid of the food I handed her.
When Scott’s asthma was under control, I went out and picked up a cute little kitten. Surely Not immediately took to my bed, moaning and groaning. It sounded like someone was dying in there. Then she stopped eating and would only drink out of the bathtub faucet. She would lick the faucet until her tongue bled. Then she started pooping and peeing all over the place. I took her to the vet. The vet asked if there were any changes in her life because she was having a doggie nervous breakdown. The kitten was returned and Surely Not returned to her old self.
I was a foster parent doing respite care. I had to take in two small boys under the age of 7. This too made her very nervous and neurotic and she finally nipped one of the boys. As he sat there crying I comforted him and asked him if I needed to find a new home for Surely. He said yes and she was taken to my mother’s. That is when I realized that Surely Not had zero tolerance for small children and babies. I went out and found an old cat and Surely Not was okay with sharing her home with the Spookster. Later I added four more old cats and she tolerated that well. If you brought in a baby cat or even a baby human she had no tolerance for it and would do her pooping, groaning, licking, vomiting routine until the offensive infant was removed. She is the only baby in my world as far as she is concerned.
She has been with me as I raised three children to adulthood, she was my comfort during my divorce, and she was on a few of my adventures. The reason why I say a few adventures is because when I took her anywhere she knew immediately when we left town. The minute we would cross that invisible barrier known only to her she would start whimpering, groaning, panting, and shedding copious amounts of fur. Her breath was atrocious. So driving with her was not pleasant even when the kids would roll down the windows. I faithfully maintain her dental care and that didn’t help. To give you an idea of how bad her breath is, on one of our adventures out of town I noticed that the disagreeable odor was gone. I made a comment about it and that is when my daughter confessed to giving her several breath mints before we got in the car.
My favorite Surely Not story involves my father. It is not something she did but something I did to insure her place in my parent’s home. My dad had cerebral palsy, peripheral neuropathy, and was confined to a wheelchair the last 25 years of his life. Every time Surely Not would come to mom and dad’s house he would get nervous. He swore up and down that she was going to potty on his rug. So I went to the local convenience store and picked up a candy bar called “cow patty.” It did look like a big cow turd. I sat in the car and carefully broke it down to a Surely Not looking turd and snuck it in the house. When dad’s back was turn I laid it down where I knew he could see it. Then I said “bad dog Surely, bad dog.” Dad immediately swung around, and focused right in on the fake Surely Turd. I quickly bent down and picked it up and took a bite. It was a miracle, he actually stood up. To his last day with us he swears he knew the turd was fake. From that day forward Surely was welcome to his home. He never ever complained that she was going to potty on his rug. He did meet her one time with a roll of duct tape going “here puppy, puppy, puppy.” Her barking drove him nuts.
She is now 14 years old, and starting a new phase in her life. When we purchased the RV and took our first road trip with her and we crossed that invisible line she tuned up. Fortunately 28 feet dissipated the bad breath. We put her two favorite pillows on the couch and one between the seats. She whined, moaned, and cried the whole day. I told mom I don’t know what to do because I felt at that time this was too much on her. It took her two days of traveling before she realized that this was her new home. As long as she has me then anyplace is home. It goes to show that old dogs can teach us new tricks.
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