**Continued from the previous post**

The evolution begins with a little ball of fur. While it might not be obvious at first, there eventually comes a point when you realize that your life revolves around your pet. Just like children, they are dependent on your care and receptive to your affection. The difference being that as they get older, animals will continue to wiggle with joy when you coo at, or pet, them, and the kids act like you’ve just landed from Mars, especially if you try to do that in public or - even worse - when their friends are around.

The downside is that when the kids hit on your last nerve, there is usually somewhere you can ship them off to that they’d rather be anyway.  But animals don’t go to their rooms to play the latest video game or surf the web. They don’t want the priciest clothes, to borrow the car, or to sneak off with less-than-desirable peers either. It’s sad when an animal hits a rough patch in behavior or health and someone doesn’t even think twice about getting rid of the problem (the pet) instead of taking time to work through it. There is always an excuse, and giving in to letting a potentially good animal go makes everyone lose out.

When I brought home my new pup, the first thing I did, after stopping at the pet store for food, bowls, treats, a bed, dog supplies, and toys, was give him a bath. It seemed like the thing to do - maybe to symbolize a fresh start / new beginning, or probably because he smelled like the animal shelter and I was still shell shocked from the price of dog shampoo et al. I must say he was quite the handsome boy with his shiny, fluffy coat and magnificent fan tail.

My next step was to give him a name. Since my housemate was a BMW motorcycle aficionado, and had a say about this new addition to our home, I thought “Beemer” might be cute - at least until we could think of something else. The pup wagged his tail when I called him by that name. Taking this as a sign that he liked it, it stuck. Then again, his tail really hadn’t stopped wagging the entire time he was with me, if you don’t count being in the bathtub.

When Beemer met Juno, my now 10-year-old Siamese, he greeted her with the same warm, waggie tail greeting that worked its charm on me. Juno hissed, gave him a swat on the snout, then haughtily turned around and left the room. Considering he was the first canine that my indoor cat had ever met, I think it went well. Beemer recovered quickly, gave me a slurp, wagged some more, then peed on my carpet. Apparently his obedience exposure didn’t include learning how to let someone know he needed to go out. That was something we would end up working on for a long time.

As I finished cleaning the carpet, I heard the door open and the other human inhabitant of the house walked into the living room. Beemer wagged his fluffy tail as I happily said “This is Beemer, our new dog.” There might have been a moment when we were headed for a showdown, but Beemer wasn’t planning on going anywhere else and worked it for all it was worth. The ice quickly melted and this dog was here to stay.

That was three years ago.  Potty mishaps and chewing issues aside, he has been a fantastic member of the family. Always there with a wagging tail, he seems to know when someone needs a nuzzle of affection or a laugh resulting from something silly he does. I’m not sure what force brought us together, I only know that I’m thankful for it every day.

©2007 Barbara Dolny

Photo of Beemer & his toy mallard by Barbara Dolny

October is Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog (or cat) month!

Visit your local shelter or go to www.aspca.org