Why isn't it easy? Life with Charlie

Believe me, I don’t know why life isn’t easy. When people ask why it’s so much effort to take care of their pets or to feed them properly, I don’t have the answer. I know it’s frustrating to slow down and add water to moisten powdered supplements so they aren’t sniffed right up the nose, but I’m flummoxed by why the world is like this. All I know is that it isn’t easy raising pets. Here’s an example of how frustrating it can be.

This week I watched my friends’ dogs who are 6 months and 24 months old. Charlie, the younger dog, provided all the challenges. Charlie defecated in the house twice. When I put the dogs in the back yard to go potty, he defecated in the water fountain. When in the front patio to go potty he began digging up the plants. Going outside to go potty meant leashes because Charlie doesn’t come when called. However, he isn’t leash trained….. On the walk he barks at girls playing with jacks on the sidewalk. Back in the house, Charlie jumps at the caged birds who are just beginning to make nests and lay eggs. He jumps on people. He scratches at the sliding patio screen.

Up goes the wire kennel in the living room and into it go Charlie and Roxie. Charlie ate the foam in the mattress. A dozen toys rested in with the foam chips and blankets, so Charlie didn’t destroy the foam because of boredom. It was, like Charlie’s other problems, a lack of education and exposure to different items when he was young. Dogs not exposed to all manner of textures, surfaces, animals, babies, toddlers, children, men, women, and the spoken voice between 2 and 12 weeks of age are an enormous challenge to teach later. It’s especially difficult to teach dogs not to defecate in the house if they grew up living in excrement.

Clearly Charlie did not have an ideal life before he was placed in the humane society and adopted by my friends. Now, my friends provide a good home where Charlie can run in the backyard as he pleases and have the companionship of a wonderful little Westie. It’s my home with more restrictions and different expectations that’s a challenge for Charlie and a frustration for me. But is it worth it? Yes. Charlie, like most pets who end up in an animal shelter, doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. He has the adorable exuberance of youth. In one week, he’s learned to sit quietly in the kitchen while his food is being prepared. He sits before receiving treats and before he is released from the kennel. He comes and sits to have his leash attached. He has stopped mouthing and biting when his harness is adjusted.

With every little step, there is more pleasure and less frustration. Isn’t that what we’re all working toward?