I Have a New Family! (I hope!) March 2, 2010
Posted by Stephen Waring in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
Let’s skip forward a little bit…
I’ve now been with Carmen, Stephen and Teddy for about a week. I feel better every day, I’m still very skinny and weak but I can feel my strength coming back. Teddy is now bunking with me, he has his own bed and I have mine but we now sleep in the same room, it’s nice having someone to sleep with, I hated being alone at night.
I’m starting to get into a routine, every morning Stephen takes me and Teddy outside to go to the bathroom and we get to explore a little bit, we get to go outside the fence and across a big field. I’ve never had so much freedom! Lots of strange smells and occasionally I see other people. The people are usually men and they ride around in little buggies with big bags on the back. Sometimes they stop and get out of the buggies and grab a stick out of the bag and hit a little white ball, then they chase the ball and hit it again. I wonder why they are mad at these balls? Humans are so strange!
We soon return from outside and it’s breakfast time. I still don’t eat much, even though Carmen and Stephen try to get me to eat more, I just don’t have a lot of interest in it. After breakfast we get to visit for a little bit. Carmen likes to sit on the ground next to me and talk to me while rubbing my ears, I love the attention. Stephen is a little rougher but I think he likes me too. Everyone is so happy, I hope I can be just as happy.
After we visit a bit, both Stephen and Carmen change clothes, say goodbye to me and Teddy, put us back in our little room with our beds, close the door and then disappear. Teddy and I don’t see them again until later that afternoon. This is fine with me… I need all the sleep I can get. There is always plenty of water in our room and both Teddy and I sleep away most of the day.
I always know when Carmen or Stephen gets home. I can hear when their car pulls into the drive, so can Teddy. He gets all excited and starts to bark, me… I just usually lay there until the door opens and then I struggle up and greet whoever it is that got home first. We go straight outside, repeat what we did in the morning and it’s back inside for more visiting and a little later it’s dinner time!
The evenings are my favorite time… everyone is moving around and talking. Stephen and Carmen are usually in the kitchen cooking food, the smells are heavenly. Every now and again they even feed us a little of whatever they are cooking. I’m really starting to feel like I belong here!
This routine usually goes on for four or five days and then it changes. Both Stephen and Carmen don’t leave in the morning but stay home all day, it’s great. Plus on these two days, other people usually visit. A couple of them, two girls, visit and even stay the night. They both seem very nice, I think that they may be Stephen and Carmen’s children since they seem very close, especially to Stephen. I like having all these people around. It’s so much better than living every day with dogs and only seeing people once in a great while.
I’m really starting to feel like I belong here, I hope I get to stay, this is what family should feel like and I want to be a part of it!
Here's a picture of me and Teddy in the back yard of Carmen and Stephen's house.
Day Four February 25, 2010
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Sorry for the delay, So much has happened, let me see if I can bring you up to speed.
On my second day with the new family, I woke up and not much had changed. I was in the same little room, in a bed of my own, I had a bowl or water and a bowl of food next to me. I was starting to feel a little better, at least I didn’t ache quite as much, still, I was spending most of my time sleeping.
Soon I heard strange noises outside my door, it’s was a dog trying to get in. The door soon opened and it was the lady and dog from the day before. They were so happy to see me, the dog was checking me out, sniffing me all over and the lady was talking to me and petting my head. After a minute or two, she stood up and called for me to follow her. I struggled up, everything still hurt, but I followed her and the dog out a back door and into a large yard. It was nice to move around and smell fresh air. Things are so much different here than my old home. I like it here so much better! I walked around a little and took in the sites. The yard was big, and it had a black metal fence around the whole thing. Plus in the very back of the yard was something I had never seen before. It was a big cement pond with blue water in it. I wonder what these people used it for? Maybe it’s for drinking? I took a taste and then the lady told me “No”, so I guess I better not do that again. She brought me a bowl of water that was next to the house, so I guess it’s ok to have water just not from the strange pond. Maybe I will figure out what the pond is for later.
After a little while we head back inside and I had a chance to walk around the house, the nice lady did not seem to mind. She kept calling me Kaiser, I guess that is the name they want me to have, I guess I could live with that… Kaiser? Hmmm, I like it!
As I walked around the house the other dog kept following me and checking me out, I wondered what his name was? He didn’t look like me at all, he was short & fat, had a short, pushed in face with bug eyes and his hair was much longer than mine. He seemed friendly enough and didn’t seem to mind that I was in his house maybe we could become friends. The lady called him by a name that sounded like “Teddy” and he response to it so I guess that must be his name.
A little while later I heard the back door open and shut, and then the strange man walked into the room. I was afraid of him, he reminded me of my master. I pulled back as he approached me, but all he did was pat me on my head and scratch me behind my left ear. He started to talk to the lady who followed him into the room. I notice that he called her “Carmen” and she called him “Stephen” my guess was that these must be the names they go by. So it’s Carmen, Stephen and Teddy, I will need to remember these.
Carmen and Stephen sat down on the sofa and Teddy jumped up to sit with them. I can’t believe that he can do that! I almost never got to go inside my old house and if I had tried to get on the sofa I would have been beat with a belt and thrown out the back door. Why do they let him on the sofa? What else do they let him do? I laid down on the blanket on the floor and figured I would just watch and see what other strange things I would happen.
Carmen and Stephen sat and talked. I’m not sure what they talked about but they did seem to be talking about me because I heard my new name “Kaiser” a lot and they kept looking at me. Soon Carmen got up and disappeared into the other room and then reappeared a minute later with a bowl in her hand. She sat down again and then Stephen and she started eating something out of the bowl, a second later Teddy was in her lap and she was giving him some of whatever was in the bowl! Again I can’t believe this! Since when do dogs get to eat on sofas? And why do humans do the things they do?
After a while Carmen and Stephen stop talking and start watching a box on the other side of the room that had noise coming out of it. I’m not sure what it was but they seem to find it interesting, didn’t make any sense to me.
I was pretty tired and I put my head down. I kept thinking about all the strange things I had seen and I wondered if I was going to get to stay. I would like that. I would really like it if this place became my new home. Soon I guess I fell asleep.
Day Three March 4, 2009
Posted by Stephen Waring in Uncategorized.2 comments
It’s morning again. I’ve been awake a little while. Boy all I seem to do is sleep! I’m still in Ashley’s house and it’s so much more comfortable and warm here than my old home. I hope that I get to make this my new home. I will need to be real good for Ashley and maybe she will let me stay and become my new master. That would be great!
I’m really thirsty, maybe I’ll drink a little water. I’m still so weak, it’s hard to get up. This water is good, it’s clean. I really like it here.
There are noises outside the door again. Someone’s coming in. It’s Ashley. She’s talking to me, and petting my head, she is so nice. I wonder why? No one has ever been this nice to me. She has more food. I think I can eat a couple of pieces, umm good!
Ok, I’m full. I don’t want to get sick. Ashley is still talking and petting me. I keep hearing her say one word over and over… it sounds like Kaiser. I wonder what the word means? I will need to give that more thought later.
She’s puts me on a leash again. I hate leashes! They almost always mean bad things are about to happen! Though, yesterday wasn’t so bad… maybe I can trust Ashley. Ok, I’ll go but I will have to be careful, I’ll make sure to watch every little thing she does.
As we walk through the front room, I see her other three dogs playing. Two of them are actually on Ashley’s sofa! Imagine that, dogs that get to live inside. They really have it lucky! Now I really want to live here!
We walk out the front door and Ashley lets me spend a little time checking out the front yard. Good time to take care of a little personal business. Next we head over to the car and Ashley puts me in the back seat. I wonder where we are going? I lay down and wait to see what’s going to happen.
This trip is a lot longer than my last trip with Ashley. I guess we are going someplace different. I see a lot more trees and less houses and people. I’ve never been in a car this long, it’s making me a little sick. Maybe if I try to sleep it will feel better.
The car just came to a stop. Where are we? I’ve never seen this place before. Ashley opens my door and helps me out of the car. We walk up to the front door of a strange house, it’s not Ashley’s house. I wonder who lives here?
Ashley knocks on the door and a few seconds later a strange lady answers. As the door opens, out bolts a strange, small dog I’ve never seen before. He starts checking me out. I’m little scared! He’s short and fat. We all walk inside and the new lady starts to talk to me and strokes my head and scratches my ear. She seems nice, a lot like Ashley. I hear her say that same word again, Kaiser. What could it mean?
A door closes in another room and in walks a strange man. Men scare me. I wonder if he is going to hurt me. I need to get close to Ashley, she will protect me. The man comes up to me and also starts to pet me. I’m so confused… I don’t know who to trust. So much is happening, why is all of this happing?
The room we are in looks a little like Ashley’s house but different. Ashley, the strange lady and man all sit down on a sofa and continue talking. I think they are talking about me because they keep looking at me. I wonder why I’ve become so important to these people?
I’m still so sick and I’m really tired, I just want to go back to Ashley’s house and go back to sleep. The three of them continue to talk for a little while then Ashley stands up and starts to walk to the door. Good, we must be going back to here house, I’m ready to go. I stand up and follow Ashley but the others hold me back. What’s going on? Why are they doing this to me? Ashley is at the door and is looking at me, I think she is crying. Why is she crying? What’s wrong?
Before I know it, the door shuts and Ashley is gone. I wonder if she is coming back? I’m alone with these strange people and a strange dog. I’m scare! What are they going to do to me? Both the lady and the man continue to pet my head and stroke my back. The lady leaves for a moment and returns with a blanket, she helps me lie down.
For the next three hour or so, they continue to talk to me and to each other and make me comfortable. They seem nice. Next the lady leaves the room again and then returns with a bowl of water and some food. I’m not really interested in either, I just want to sleep. I’m still so tired and weak.
The next thing I remember is waking up and the strange people are nowhere to be seen. I wonder where they went? The strange dog is also gone. I stand up and slowly walk around a little. This house is big! There are a least four rooms and a stairs that go up. Across the room a door opens and out walks the new lady. She sees me and walks over to me and starts talking to me. She continues to say the word Kaiser to me. I wonder if she is calling ME that? Strange, why would she call me that, it’s not my name.
The lady walks into another room and I follow her. She continues to talk to me as she stands at a counter and mixes something in a bowl. After a minute she puts the bowl down in front of me and stands up. The bowl has some food in it but I’m still not really hungry. She tries to get me to eat, she even picks up some of the food and puts it in my mouth. I swallow and she does it again. I eat five or six mouthfuls like this and then I’ve had enough. After trying a few more time to get me to continue eating the lady gives up.
Next she walks into another small room and calls for me to follow. I walk into the room and there is a small bed made up. The lady sits on the floor next to the bed and motions for me to lay down on it. I follow her instructions and lay down. She sits there for a long time and strokes my head and talks to me. It’s very nice and comfortable, I’m starting to like it here.
As I wonder what is going to happen next to me… I start to drift off to sleep.
Day Two March 3, 2009
Posted by Stephen Waring in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
Its early morning and I’m still in the strange lady’s home. It was very quiet during the night; I’ve never been in a place where it’s so quiet. I’m all by myself in a room with one window that I can see out so I know its morning. I still feel like crap but at least I’m comfortable. I hear some noises in the other room.
The door opens and the strange lady walks in but this time she has a man with her and a small male, I wonder if it’s her mate and their puppy? (I think they call it a boy, first time I have ever see one) They are all looking at me and talking to me. They seem nice enough. The lady has more food and she wants me to eat, I guess I could eat a little bit more. Yum, it’s the same stuff from the night before, it’s even better today. The man and the lady are talking back and forth, he keeps saying the word “Ashley”… I wonder if that‘s the lady’s name? I bet it is! Ok, so I will call her Ashley.
I’m a little afraid of the man, he looks a little bit like my master but he doesn’t act like him, he doesn’t seem mean. The boy is like a puppy, lots of energy and a little rough. I’ve never been around a boy before, he’s a little scary, but I don’t think he means any harm. Regardless, I need to be careful around these two, can’t let my guard down.
Ok, that’s enough food, I get full so fast! Ashley is talking to me again, she’s got such a nice voice. I wish I knew what she was saying. Now she petting me, I’ve never had so much attention, I kind of like it. I sense that she is still worried. This is all so confusing.
They all left the room and Ashley has returned with her coat and a leash. We must be going someplace. Oh God! I hope we’re not going back to that scary place! She wouldn’t do that to me, would she? Please let me stay here? I promise I’ll be good!
We are in the car again, I’m so scared, I don’t know what to do. Maybe the next time that Ashley opens the door I can slip past her and make a run for it. I don’t want to go back to the scary place! Why is she doing this to me? What did I do?
What am I thinking? I can’t run for it, hell I can barely stand up, I’m still so sick.
We ride for a little while and then Ashley stops the car. She gets out and walks around the car and opens the door by me, she wants me to get out. No! I won’t go! Please don’t do this to me! Ashley pulls and pulls and finally gets me out of the car. Wait… this place is different, it’s not the scary place, it’s some other place.
We walk across a parking lot and Ashley opens a new door and we walk into a strange new place, lots of strange smells. There are lots of people here and dogs too. Some are waiting in chairs and others are talking at a tall counter. I can’t see over or behind the counter but someone is on the other side. Ashley talks to the person behind the counter then she moves over to one of the chairs and sits down. I stay close to Ashley, I’m scared of this place and she’s the only thing I have now.
Almost every chair is filled with a man or a lady and each has a dog… wait one lady has something different on her lap. I’ve never seen a dog like that! It’s small and doesn’t act like any dog I’ve ever seen and I think I can smell it, very strange. It just made a really weird noise, kind of like “meeoww”. I don’t think I like this place.
As we wait, people with their dogs come and go. The lady with the strange dog that meowed has left and I think I may have seen another one of these strange dogs. This one was in a box with holes in it and a lady was carrying it.
Finally, the person behind the counter says something to Ashley and we get up and walk down a hallway and into a little room. Ashley closes the door. I’m very scared, why are we here? What’s going to happen?
A little while later, a door on the other side of the room opens and in walks a big man in a white coat and a smaller young lady. The man starts talking to Ashley and she answers him back, every now and then she looks down at me. The young lady picks me up and places me on a metal table, I’m so scared. The man starts poking me all over and then looks in my mouth. He puts a strange metal thing in his ears and presses the other end to my chest. I think he’s listening to something.
All while this is happening, Ashley and the big man are talking. Next, they did something really strange.
As the young lady holds on to me, the big man takes a small, slender stick and shoves it in my butt! What the…! A couple seconds later the stick makes a beep and he takes it out. The big man looks at the stick and says something to Ashley, she nods.
I don’t know about you, but shoving something up someone’s butt is just wrong!
Ashley and the big man talk a little while longer. I think they are talking about me but I can’t be sure. Finally, Ashley stands up and says a final few words to the big man in the white coat and we walk out the door we came in. We go back to the tall counter in the other room for a minute, Ashley gets a small bag with stuff in it and then we leave.
We are back in the car. Ashley keeps talking and I think she is talking to me, I wish I understood what she was saying. I’m so tired, I hope we are going back to Ashley’s home but I really don’t care right now, I just want to go to sleep.
The car stops again and Ashley gets out. I struggle to stand up and I see we are indeed back at Ashley’s house. Ashley opens my door and helps me out of the car, she is so gentle. We walk into her house and the three other dogs that look like me rush us and start barking up a storm. They don’t seem to care about me but they are really excited to see Ashley.
Ashley takes me back to the room I was in before and helps me back into the same bed. She disappears for a minute or two and then returns with some more of the same food she had from before and a bowl of water. I guess I can eat a few more pieces. I eat one or two pieces and they taste just as good as before, but there is something different. I think that there might be something hard in the center of these. Oh well, they still taste good. I’m so sleepy, I think I will take a nap.
This is me at the end of my second day
The Beginning March 2, 2009
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Where am I? What is this strange, new place? Who are those strange dogs?
I’m so weak… I hurt so bad, I just want to die…. I’m falling asleep…
I must have fallen asleep, I’m still in this strange place, well at least it’s comfortable and I have my own blanket… and it’s warm, far better than where I came from.
The place I came from was a small pen in an unheated garage behind my master’s house. I rarely saw the outside, and the only time I saw my master was when he came in to feed me and the other dogs that lived with me. So many dogs… and new puppies all the time, but the puppies left after a short time, I wonder where they went? I’m not sure how long I lived there; I just remembered that I was never happy. I just wanted a little freedom and to be able to play and get close to my master, but that never happened. My life was the same thing day in and day out and I always seemed to be sick and I could never make my master happy, sometimes he hit me… hard, it really hurt. I could never figure out what I did wrong. I wanted to be a good dog. I just needed someone to show me what to do.
The last thing I remember was being really sick, I had no interest in eating and I had no strength. My master came into the garage and took me out of my pen and threw me in the back of his truck, I couldn’t do anything but just lie there, I was so weak. We drove for a little while and then arrived at a place I had never seen before. It was a big ugly building and I could hear lots of dogs barking inside and it smelled of death. I was very afraid.
My master picked me up and took me inside. There were a lot of strange people inside and he started to speak to one of them, a lady. After a minute or so he handed my leash to the lady, turned around and walked out the door. He never said a word to me, he just left and I never saw him again. Why would he do that to me?
They put me in a pen in the back of the building. I think I was there two or three days, I’m not sure, I was so sick. I saw a lot of other dogs there, different looking dogs, not like at my home where all the dogs looked just like me. Here there were big dogs, little dogs some with long hair and some with short hair, all different colors, the strange thing was that they kept changing. Dogs would leave and new ones would replace them, it was a very strange and scary place.
I don’t remember much after that until I woke up here. I seem to remember a strange lady took me out of the scary place, we went on a long car ride and then the next thing I knew I woke up here. At least it’s quieter here and I only see three other dogs and they look just like me.
Who’s that? That strange lady just walked into the room, the one that took me out of the scary place, she’s still here. I wonder if this is her home? She’s talking to me, I wish I knew what she was saying, now she’s patting me on the head, scratching my ear, it feels so good! She very nice, I’ve never met anyone like her before. I wonder who she is?
I sense she’s worried, I wonder why? Could it be she’s worried about me? Why would she be worried about me? She doesn’t even know me. Now she’s trying to get me to eat, she’s got some food in her hand, it smells good but I’m just not very interested in eating right now. Well maybe I’ll take a bite. Yum, it is good! I’ve never tasted anything like it, it’s warm and juicy, I wonder what it is? Ok that’s enough, four pieces, if I eat any more I think I will be sick. I’m so tired… I think I will go back to sleep.
