{"id":132,"date":"2010-09-05T16:38:20","date_gmt":"2010-09-05T23:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/?p=132"},"modified":"2010-09-29T08:01:02","modified_gmt":"2010-09-29T15:01:02","slug":"dewey-the-right-dog-for-someone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/05\/dewey-the-right-dog-for-someone\/","title":{"rendered":"Dewey: The Right Dog for Someone"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Dewey - Lookin' sharp and lookin' for love.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An average of 178,000 vehicles travel Arizona State Route 51 between the Loop 202 merge and the McDowell Road on-ramp each day \u2013 the majority of those bottleneck southbound around 8 AM mornings and northbound 5 PM afternoons.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, August 26 at 5:15 PM, Pat and I inched northward through this broiling slow-and-go toward the carpool lane, which was stop-and-go.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the fuck? The carpool lane? Holy shit! It\u2019s a dog!\u201d Pat said, throwing the TrailBlazer SS into park. I mashed on the hazards and crawled across the backseat to open the door.<\/p>\n

A white dog with a black eye sat trembling beside the Jersey barrier.<\/p>\n

Pat crouched before him, softly calling to him over the bleat of horns and roar of wheels. If I get out of this car, I\u2019m stepping into oncoming traffic, but if he bolts \u2013 he\u2019s gonna get hit. Please go to Pat. Please go to Pat. Please go to Pat<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Pat lunged forward, scooped him up and rolled this bag of bones into the backseat. Within seconds we were underway, cruising at 60 miles an hour. I cranked up the air-conditioner and called our veterinarian, Dr. Jeffrey Brown<\/a> at Scottsdale Ranch Animal Hospital<\/a>. He agreed to stay late to see the dog.<\/p>\n

A dog doesn\u2019t end up in the middle of one of the busiest freeways in Phoenix at rush hour because his owner took a wrong turn on the way to Bible study.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unlikely that he wandered out there by himself because 15-foot concrete sound barriers line each side of the highway. Our best guess is he leapt, unsecured, from the bed of a pick-up truck that was stalled in traffic, but someone could have just as easily dumped him. We know he did not escape from a moving vehicle because he had no broken bones or cuts and scrapes.<\/p>\n

He did have severe infections in both eyes \u2013 one of which, the black one, was swollen shut. His ribs and spine poked through his white fur, and he smelled like he spent the better part of his days under a Port-O-Let. When we got to the vet\u2019s office, he understandably didn\u2019t want to get out of our TrailBlazer SS.<\/p>\n

One week later, the dog we now call Dewey has bright, clear eyes, his first round of puppy shots and no man-parts. Despite his frenetic wiggling, the vet techs have managed to get most of the medicated ointment into his eyes, and antibiotics have wiped out the rest of the nastiness. While Dewey was under anesthesia for his neuter, Dr. Brown put a few temporary sutures below each eyelid to gently correct the muscular contortion that came from near-constant squinting due to his infection. The sutures should dissolve by Thursday and otherwise will be removed on Friday.<\/p>\n

Apparently, what your Mom told you was true: If you keep staring like that, your eyes will<\/em> stick that way.<\/p>\n

Check out our awesome Dewey slideshow with cool BEFORE and AFTER photos.<\/a><\/p>\n

When Pat closes his eyes, he can see the scared dog on the freeway at rush hour \u2013 and I alternate between rage and tears over it. My friend Toni offered me some comfort through a Bible verse:<\/p>\n

“If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it.” ~ Exodus 23:5.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Personally, I would like to test drive what I\u2019ve learned in DIY Neutering for Dummies (now, with 20% more ball-peen hammer!)<\/em> on the person that did this to him \u2013 1) so I can share with him some of the pain he inflicted on an innocent creature and 2) so he cannot contaminate the gene pool with his crooked seed.<\/p>\n

But even though Dewey\u2019s former owner was jackass, we do want to help him with his burden. We can only speculate about Dewey\u2019s life before we found him on the freeway \u2013 but we\u2019d have to assume it was pretty frightening and didn\u2019t involve building healthy pack relationships with other animals. Oddly enough, he LOVES people (probably more than I do right now).<\/p>\n

Today, Dewey has a new leash and collar and his very own squeaky toy. He\u2019s become a handsome young knucklehead who uses his e-collar like a front-end loader and bounds around on walks looking for things to run into. He\u2019s taken quite an interest in birds, but unfortunately other dogs are another story.<\/p>\n

After boarding him at the vet clinic for a week while we were on vacation (and Dr. Brown held him for observation), on Friday, we attempted to introduce Dewey to our Coolidge (120-pound male Rhodesian Ridgeback) and our Winslow (60-pound female pit bull). We hired a professional trainer \u2013 Brad Jaffe from Team Canine<\/a> \u2013 to facilitate the introduction, as he\u2019d put us through Coolidge\u2019s puppy training (and we let all those lessons slide in the six years since).<\/p>\n

For the first 30 minutes, everything was going fine. Everyone was on a leash. Everyone seemed curious, but mellow. Then Winslow looked at Dewey the wrong way; Dewey got mad and Coolidge went ballistic. Brad said it wouldn’t work for these guys \u2013 especially since we work full-time and could not devote 24-hours a day to keeping all three dogs separated, exercised, fed and happy.<\/p>\n

So, I drove Dewey back to Dr. Brown\u2019s that afternoon, crying all the way. Dr. Brown offered me his shoulder and more words of comfort:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going to be a great pet for someone, Stacy \u2013 he\u2019s just not right for your family. He loves to be around people, and someone is going to be lucky to have him.\u201d<\/p>\n

And this is true: That first day, Dewey let Dr. Brown and the vet techs poke and prod him (rectal thermometer, anyone?) without so much as a growl or an Elvis sneer. If I were found in the middle of the freeway at rush hour, I don’t think I’d be so mellow when someone stuck a thermometer in my butt. Through twice-daily applications of eye ointment and the indignity of having to wear a satellite dish for an e-collar, Dewey just wiggles and squirms and licks Dr. Brown in the face.<\/p>\n

Dr. Brown estimates that he’s about 10-18 months old, but we think he\u2019s on the younger side because he has the puppy-like coordination of a submariner on shore-leave. He weighs 55 pounds and will likely top out around 80.<\/p>\n

As far as his activity level is concerned: We haven’t spent a lot of time with him. We’ve walked him every day since we got back from vacation, but he’s spending most of his time in a kennel, so when we do see him, he’s gunning to go for a walk. It’s very clear that he’s never walked on a leash, and Brad thinks he’ll do fine on a Halti<\/a> or Gentle Leader<\/a> headcollar (once his eye stitches are out, since those devices fit around the muzzle like a horse’s bridle). When we brought him into our house (after we segregated our dogs), Dewey was pretty curious, but he wasn’t tearing around like a 4-year-old on Cocoa-Puffs \u2013 we honestly think it was the first time he\u2019d ever been inside a house. He just looked around and sniffed things and tried to lift his leg on the wall.<\/p>\n

He will need training, and to that end, Pat and I will pay for private puppy training sessions with Brad<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 sit \/ stay \/ leash \/ greetings and more \u2013 for whoever adopts him. This is because Dewey should not be in a group-training environment, and Brad is familiar with his behavior. Besides, Pat and I figure we\u2019re so far down this road financially, we might as well go all the way to make sure he has the best chance. I don\u2019t know if Toni can find a Bible verse to support me, but I believe this is why God made credit cards.<\/p>\n

Physically, he is a very strong dog so whoever takes him will need to stay on top of his training. Dewey wouldn’t hurt a human, but dogs and cats are another story \u2013 and I have to think this comes from just trying to survive on the streets of Phoenix and competing in the Dumpsters with other animals to scare up his next meal. At no time has he exhibited any negative behavior to any person who has handled him, even those wielding rectal thermometers. Honestly, Pat and Brad both said a single woman would likely benefit from having him because no one with “nefarious intentions” would want to approach her when she was on a walk or run with him.<\/p>\n

If the best revenge is living well, I can find some kind thoughts: As the owner of a rescued pit bull, I\u2019m looking forward to hearing about all the wonderful discoveries in Dewey\u2019s future \u2013 things that dogs not found on the freeway probably take for granted: Rolling in poop, playing in clean water, nibbling a favorite treat, burying treasures in the yard, sleeping at the foot of the bed, watching football on Sundays, chewing your shoes (and learning not to chew your shoes), welcoming you home in the afternoon and exploring the world beyond those doors with you.<\/p>\n

If you would like to foster him as an only-pet in your home, please email me or call me at 602-751-4506 \u2013 we would like him to leave the kennel at Dr. Brown\u2019s as soon as his stitches are out.<\/p>\n

If you would like Dewey to be your only-pet, I would like to introduce you to him at Dr. Brown\u2019s and we\u2019ll figure out the details from there. I\u2019m here to answer your questions via email or phone at 602-751-4506.<\/p>\n

Dewey is not the right dog for everyone \u2013 but he is the right dog for SOMEONE<\/em>.<\/strong> We need your help in finding that someone. To that end, I grudgingly joined facebook and willingly encourage you to pass this along to others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it.” ~ Exodus 23:5.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dogs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138,"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions\/138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patandstacy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}