and i want to talk about that. we as humans make these assumptions on what we think animals need.
sometimes these assumptions are totally stupid like...my dog LIKES sitting outside all alone in the dark in the freezing and pouring down rain. or the one i heard yesterday...i don't want to neuter my 6 month old dog til he is at least two years old because i don't want him to grow up to be a midget. then there is..females are healthier and nicer dogs if they get to have at least one litter.
and sometimes these assumptions are based on intelligent common sense....homeless shelter dogs would be happier in a very good home of their own. i believe this...most of the time.... except in the cases like... maude, andy, al, squirt, phoebe, and maybe kodi..he really does need a whack of dogs to chase around and herd.....and others now past..like cleo, jazz, jesse, buddy, sissy and clyde. i think these dogs do better here because instead of living by human expectations, schedules and rules...they live by their own unique wants and needs which i encourage them to self-actualize....(ie...i spoil them rotten and stuff their faces full of all kinds of things that normal dogs don't get to eat!)..(one day..i will get at least one dog to actually like jello....i am working really hard to eventually achieve this.)
i am adding larry to the permanent sanctuary dog list. larry really does want saints to be his last home. sure he will miss out on a one to one kind of family, he will miss out on a ton of daily walks or trips to the dog park, he won't be bathed or groomed every six weeks, he won't ever go on vacation or celebrate a holiday in his family home...in short he won't ever have a loving and normal home of his very own.
maybe he doesn't want it cuz he has never had it. maybe he can't miss or yearn for what was never there. maybe saints was the very first place that he ever felt he belonged or fit in and that was why he wanted to come back. i have no idea what was in larry's head, all i know is that he is content to be where he thinks he should be.
i pulled out my old computer chair and made him a comfortable bed so he can be next to me while i blog about him. normally he stands up on his hind legs, lays his head in my lap and wobbles a bit while i write. tonight...he is laying in his own computer chair with his head on my lap and his belly full of his favorite...santa fe rice (i share it with him when i make it because i tell him he looks like a third world mexican dog....maybe he knew i had a box in the freezer and that was why he wanted to come home.)
Muchas Gracias. Muy delicioso
in any case, my point is this...despite what i thought, despite what colleen thought....larry thought differently then either of us. and somehow larry knew that he could and would have his own way even if he had to make his point by eating door frames or trying to bust out thru the door.
personally i think he made a mistake cuz i sure as shit would pick colleen's house over this one.....hmmmm...if i am going to be honest....maybe i wouldn't.
there is something here at saints that fills me up inside, that makes me feel that this shelter for the old and disabled..is my own true home. maybe larry feels the same about this as i do...for all of the mess, for all of the chaos, for all of the bodies around us 24/7..maybe larry feels the absolute rightness for him here...just like i do....to each his own.
just goes to show you we don't always know what is best for the animals in our care...sometimes we have to stop, listen and let them have their say and let them pick what they want, even if we think they are picking wrong.
but....i am pretty damn happy that larry did want to come back because i was really missing my favorite homely old dog.
Aw Lynne! I do love Perdy too! She's really beautiful and so sweet, but she wouldn't be right in our home.