Continued from Pet of the Month: Petunia, Part 1
So, why am I still here after all these months? Let’s be frank here - I’m a big girl. Those little dogs get adopted much faster as do the medium sized dogs. They get away with much more than the bigger ones do too.
I’m a proud curvy and very muscular 80-something pound diva-tomboy. I’m compact! I’m actually shorter in height and length than my very lean 69 pound foster brother (width not so much).
Secondly, I have a blocky head. Some folks hold some reservations about us blocky head dogs- I can’t help how I look!
I also need to be the only furkid in the house. Yep, I live with a super laid back male dog but I’d prefer not . And that factors into why I don’t like to be at adoption events. There is a lot of chaos going on and frankly, some humans let their dogs run up to me and I get nervous.
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| The tomboy in me! I love being silly! |
Lastly, I came into foster care when I was about 1½ years old - those are the juvenile/teenage years in dogs when even a well- raised puppy struggles with impulse control and pushes the envelope. Mom suspects that I never had the puppyhood that I should have had nor did I learn many manners either. She also suspects I must’ve made the humans I once lived with mad because it’s obvious I’m frightened if you yell at or punish me harshly. This kind of negative reinforcement will only damage our relationship and bond. All that coupled with my size made me a very misunderstood girl. Have you ever been misunderstood?
Luckily, all those super-sized kisses I gave my mom the evening she picked me up from the pound really showed her how big my heart really is. How was I supposed to learn what to do if no one taught me? If I was only scolded when I did something wrong, how was I supposed to know the right thing to do?
Not having rules or boundaries is kinda stressful for us dogs. We actually like to know what to do and how to do it. Anything else leaves a world of uncertainty and can create anxiety. I was fairly anxious as I was learning to live with rules and boundaries, even though I knew that’s ultimately what I wanted. What a relief to have someone taking care of things!
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What can I say?
I LOVE pink and I definitely love a good cause! |
It was obvious I wasn't exposed to very much before. I didn't know how to walk on a leash - I tried to chase the cars and bark at the large mailboxes on the street. It didn't take long to understand the walking thing. When I was in the house, I would hear the slightest noise outside and bark and get myself so worked up I couldn't stop barking even though I couldn't remember what I was barking at.
During the transition to my foster home, it took a few days to trust my foster mom wouldn't put me in dangerous situations. But soon, I felt safe that she was leading me in the right direction. Through it all, I've always been very loving and have slobbered Mom with kisses while taking in this new way of living. She even lugged me out of town to her family’s house a few times and I exuberantly loved everyone there. And, as always, they loved me too even though they proclaim not to be dog-people and I’m a lotta dog!
I was even adopted out to a family with four kids and they loved me and I loved them but they did not have the time to dedicate to me so I came back to my very dedicated foster mom.
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Being adorable, playing
with my toy outside |
A few months ago, I heard this sound that I used to be afraid of, The Clicker. Mom has amped up my training. Now I’m always eager to hear The Clicker. If you’re not familiar, The Clicker reinforces the good things that I do at the very moment I do them. Sometimes when I’m out in the yard, I start to bark as strangers walk their dogs by, but Mom calls me back and I know if I go it’s a good thing and I love to do good things. One day, I even heard a couple say “that is amazing” when I ran back to mom as they passed with their dog. Sometimes I don’t bark at all. I don’t bark at dogs on walks or care too much about them, even when the pack of little barkers are walking too! If I get distracted by something, that’s when the
“let’s go” command is important. Ya know how I said I use to bark all the time at things outside? Well, now I know I have better things to do. Even the tree trimmers were here today with saws and the chipper and I thought napping was more important. I still bark at the UPS guy and some other pertinent things so you can feel safe but then I stop! Yep, it’s true!
I've been in foster care for a long time but I’m ready for my new home. Transitioning to my new furever home is going to be great! Mom can teach you all the words I know so you can jump right in. I really just want a human or few to hang to spend time with.
There are still some areas I haven’t had the opportunity to practice as much as we’d like but I’m a good learner. I still have times when I act like a puppy, mostly when I get excited and that’s why I need someone who will understand that.
You might think 'Well it sounds like your foster mom does? You seem to have it made at your foster home! Why would you want to leave?'
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| Being adorable again. Posing in 'my chair.' |
My mom loves me so much but my foster home is really not
the best place for me to be and I'll tell you why. I've done so well here and it’s quite impressive
because it’s really not the best place. You see, because I prefer my space with dogs, I only have a small area of the house where I’m allowed when my foster brother is here. Some days I don’t see much of Mom, aside from walks or playing ball and some training. I sit all alone cuddled up in chair (that she gave me permission to use); it makes me sad and makes her feel bad because I just want to be with my people. On busy days when I don't get to see as much of her, she makes it a point to lay down with me at night. I love that!
It’s amazing I’ve accomplished as much as I have given the circumstances. When my foster brother is not home, I get the run of the house, and I get to pretend what it’s like to be in a forever home where I can check to see what my humans are up to, give them some love, and just be around.
Do you know anyone that would love to have a dog like me? I really need to start learning in my new home soon. I know my foster brother is having some health issues and Mom really needs to focus on getting him
healthy. I also heard she has some travel coming up and if I don’t have a home, I don’t know where I’ll go.
I’m a sweet baby girl and I know my furever home is out there somewhere . . . can you help me find it?
If you would like to know more about and/or meet Petunia please see her listing on Paws and Prayers Adoptable Dogs and fill out an adoption application for Petunia today!
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The first dog that we had when my kids were old enough to participate was a stray that someone dumped. My kids encouraged her to “stay” by feeding her when I was at work. She was a mixed breed “mutt” (the best kind really). We ran ads in 3 different newspapers for weeks to see if someone would claim her, and when no one responded, we had a family meeting and decided to adopt her. Her name, fittingly enough, was “Finder”, because we did…. :o) And a few weeks after she was licensed and vetted, we found out she was pregnant and probably the reason she was abandoned. She was with us for 15 wonderful years and we loved her beyond measure. 
after the pets as much as He does us, I believe) and my son found a tiny puppy that someone had dumped on South Street in Akron. If you know the area, you know that it isn’t a very nice area and it’s a very busy street and here was this little 6 week old puppy that had no clue where it’s mommy was or why she was cold and hungry. When we adopted her, Maggie’s grief disappeared and Emme, as we called her, found the “mommy” that she so desperately needed. Once again we had 2 dogs. 
Now we were back to one dog, Emme…. I was looking forward to being able to spend more time with her, concentrating on her and making her feel as special as she was. She was a little lethargic and we thought she was grieving, which I’m sure she was. She and Maggie had bonded from the first moment they sniffed each other. After a couple weeks of this, I decided to take her to the vet, just to get checked out and make sure she was okay. Dr. Robyn did a routine blood panel and physically she seemed fine. She told me to phone her back in a day for the results of the blood tests. My husband and mother and daughters kept telling me they were sure things were fine, that I was worrying for nothing. I kept telling myself they were right… I was praying they were right. The results of her blood work were shocking to all of us, to say the least. Emme was dying of kidney failure and we were absolutely devastated. On Christmas day, she crawled under the Christmas tree, turned around and laid down and looked at us as if to say “don’t forget what a gift I’ve been”. That was the last picture of her we ever got. She died at home with us 3 days after Christmas and was buried with Maggie under my favorite bush. Within 6 weeks we had lost both of our beloved dogs and I was inconsolable. 
and they bred boxers. Well, when their female boxer was ready to be bred, a sneaky lab got into their kennel and low and behold, the cutest boxer/lab mix puppies you've ever seen were born. I talked with the breeder and they were giving these puppies away. I told her I wanted a female (all my dogs had been females up to this point) and she said she only had one female left, but there were people coming to look at them over the weekend. I kept putting off seeing them, so my daughters talked me into it and I decided to go and look at them on Monday morning. The one female was still there and when we got there it was love at first “lick”. I picked her up and she licked my face and I knew…. “Marnie” had found her forever home. 
But I couldn’t stop looking at Paws and Prayers dog pictures. Jen would send me dogs to look at, but I kept coming back to the picture of “Alvin”. A male border collie/lab mix whose face I just couldn’t seem to take my eyes off of. But I kept thinking “he’s a male” and we don’t want any males”. Hmmm…. then why couldn’t I stop thinking about him. Every day I would go to Paws and Prayers website and look for him, thinking he probably was already adopted. And when he wasn’t, I felt relief…. I looked at his picture every day for a long time and finally decided maybe we should go look at him. So my husband and I took the trip and met “Alvin”. He was so shy, but so beautiful and he had this look on his face… the same look that haunted me in his picture. The look that to me said, “we belong together, please make me yours”. And that is exactly what we did. The next day, my daughter and I went to pick him up and the foster lady kept telling me about this “weird thing” that Alvin did with his mouth; that it looked like he was being vicious, but that wasn't what it was. She didn’t want me to see it and be fearful of him and in turn not want him anymore. We went to Petsmart to get his bed and some other things we’d need. He was quiet and shy, but at one point while we were sitting on the bench waiting on my daughter, he gave that wonderful “doggie sigh” and leaned against my leg and I knew we were going to be alright. And about the “weird thing” thing that he did with his mouth….. well, every time we go away and come back, I see that “weird thing” smiling in the door way at us and I’ve never mistaken it for anything other than what it was…. Finnegan SMILES at us! It’s amazing and it makes me laugh every time I see him do it.
