Bry

This little girl is Bry.  She seems to have adopted me.

March of next year will mark the 6th anniversary of the death of Missy,  my Aussie mutt, who was actually Mackenzie's.  But that's another story.  In those 6 years I have gone from "never again" to "maybe" to "wouldn't it be nice" to "let's do it".  

Off and on in the past few years I have frequented the local shelters to increasing disillusionment.  I'm not sure about shelters elsewhere but certainly around here the predominate breed are Pit Bulls.  Bad press, bad owners and a predilection to a certain aggressiveness make them simply unacceptable for me.  Lovability measures have Pits way up there as one of the most affectionate dog, but for me, they simply have a PR problem that won't go away.

It became necessary to discover other avenues to explore.  Enter Aussie and Me Rescue organization.  After an application, home and reference check they matched me up with her and we arranged a blind date.  After an extensive meet-up in Sarasota on December 7th I pulled the proverbial trigger and that was that. 

As I write this on the 8th (7:13 AM) our brief history is this:  she got sick twice in the car coming home,  has yet to bark and, get this, has not gone potty.  By my count that is some 21 hours.  

She has a fairly tough past: she was raised by hoarders in Jasper, Florida in abusive conditions.  There were many dogs kept outside and inside without medical care food or water to speak of.  After being rescued by local authorities she came to the attention of the Aussie & Me organization.  Part Great Pyrenees, Australian Shepherd and Border Collie she is fairly unremarkable in any way except for her ears which are unusually thick.  Dumbo comes to mind, or the Flying Nun.  Ping-Pong paddles, too.  When the air hits her right it looks like she has those rain guards you see on tractor mufflers. 

  

She escaped from her original foster family and ended up in a swanky part of Sarasota begging prime rib after having barely scraps from the hoarders.  She hung around some lady's place who starred in one of those Dallas Housewives shows; either Dallas or maybe a reality TV show based there.  She wanted to adopt her but was denied because of her busy TV schedule, so in some respect I have a celebrity pooch.  

I mentioned to the rescue group that I didn't think I wanted an Alpha.  My rationale was that Missy wasn't and so I might be better served with something less than a pack leader.  I did not, however, expect the Omega pooch I have.  She is unbelievably skittish.  I should have named her Shadow, since she is in constant fear of hers.  

Fast forward to January 2nd: Bry has seemed to learn the intricacies of potty training.  For that I am thankful.  However a secondary problem has cropped up.  She is tearing the apartment down sliver by sliver.  We were told she was crate trained but this was clearly an exaggeration.  I tried getting her into the crate a couple times, both successfully.  However I had to get on the floor, grab her sides and force her in - she would rare up and avoid it until excessive force won the day.  She would then tear or eat her tray, towels, anything around while she was in plus pee herself.  That would necessitate a bath which ended up as difficult as putting her int he crate.  So I decided to leave her out when I left and now she is tearing and scratching at wood, walls and trim.  This I cannot afford.  I live (at the moment) in someone else's place, and the bill to settle up will be steep.  

We have been told by Aussie & Me that she may need other dogs to associate with.  If this is the case they will try to match me up again.  

She is clearly neurotic and maybe partially insane.  On two separate early morning walks she saw something that scared her and she ran in the opposite direction barking all the way.  The first time she got hung up in the bushes with her leash.  The second time I help on but when she reached the end of her tether it jerked my arm practically out of its socket (didn't do much for her neck either). 

She is however, not without her strong points.  She will bark only at folks she deems walking too close to the front door,  but more often than not remains silent.  She sleeps a lot and will be playful but not rowdy.  She is loving and quite crazy about me, but her future here depends on her not tearing things up.  Norah loves her and can walk her without any problem.  She walks to the door and will wait patiently till she gets leashed.  

With her incestuous ears naming her was difficult - too many possibilities:  Dumbo (for her ping-pong paddle-like ears),  Pequod (for her propensity to pee on the carpet),  or maybe just call her Taxi (for a one-way ride back to Sarasota).  Gingersnap The Wonder Pup was right up there as a possibility.  But in the end it was Bry.  Bry is Norwegian for "inconvenient trouble".   It is also one-syllable to accommodate her learning disability.  Her cousin Maddie, future friends Lily Lu, and Calf Chomper (Tim's dog) can handle the big words, but Bry needs to stick to the remedial stuff.  

It is now the evening of January 5th and I received a call from Aussie and Me last night wanting to know if she is staying or going back.  After making a purchase of Merrick's Buffalo and Sweet Potato dog food that should last for two months, she may be may be making a claim for Bedlam.   Obedience School looms in the future and perhaps she will dazzle me with her abilities.    

Her future is in her paws.