Megaphone -- Page 8

I don’t think there are enough words to describe our little Pomeranian, Kerry Ross. He has been the love of our life for many years and it’s hard for us to believe he will be 12 on August 16, 2007.

He truly was love at first sight when I discovered him in a pet store in Ormond shortly after the loss of our 16 year old poodle, Kola.

I’m convinced each dog leaves indelible paws prints on our hearts and each one gives and is loved differently.

I will never forget the night we brought him home from the pet store. I decided after the loss of Kola not to purchase a dog from a commercial place with all the negative publicity that’s attached to them. I had to eat my words that night because this little guy grabbed hold of me as I entered the pet store, and as they say, the rest is history!

When Pat arrived home from work after I had spotted Kerry in the pet store, I told him I had found a dog. He asked me if I had done any research on the breed. I said no, but the gal at the store assured me they were gentle loving little dogs. FAMOUS LAST WORDS!

Off we were to the pet store to pick up Kerry, and return him to his new home. I placed him on my lap and as we were driving across the Granada Bridge, I heard a sound coming from his mouth and tummy. I immediately knew he was car sick.

The car sickness was only the beginning of many dysfunctions Kerry possessed over the next several years. He arrived in Ormond from Missouri and we believe was littered in a puppy mill. He suffered from separation anxiety and was taken to a behaviorist on the recommendation of our Vet.

The behaviorist prescribed Elavil, an anti-depressant given to dogs who suffer from separation anxiety. When we were separated for any length of time, he was placed in a crate that he later learned to accept as his own little apartment.

I took him off the Elavil within a month after he experienced many lethargic moments. I then decided to try my own method of training which included praise when he did something good and consequences to the negative actions. Along with all the positive and negative responses, I smothered him with love and more love.

I soon began to see positive results and one thing I contribute to the success was exchanging eye contact with each command. Even today, he stares me directly in the eyes when I speak to him.

The most important thing was to establish trust with him, and I was determined to make this a success. Before I knew it, he could be trusted alone without the crate for short intervals. The short intervals became longer and today, he can be left alone for several hours and seldom goes into the crate.

There were times I thought of returning him to the pet store, but I knew I had such a unique bond with him even the thought was senseless.

His motion sickness has gone and he enjoys traveling in the RV. He has accompanied us on all our trips. Our dysfunctional little Kerry is very functional today.

This is PEPPY – you could call him “Peppy Le Pew” as he truly was a stinker.

Peppy was my Aunt Helen’s dog and a Chihuahua who was all white and was about as close to an albino as you could get. He had reddish brown eyes and a pinkish nose, but the rest of him was all white. Some would think he was really a cute little dog, but his attitude was that of a king. In other words, he was spoiled rotten!

We lived in Lima and would occasionally go to visit Aunt Helen in her Marion home. She always advised us to be careful of this dog as he didn’t see well (another albino tendency) and that he didn’t like men. It has been my experience with little dogs and particularly the Chihuahuas that they are a ”one-person dog.” Peppy, even though he

was very small and probably weighed no more than four pounds, was especially protective of Aunt Helen and had absolutely no concept that something was bigger and more powerful than he was.

One Sunday afternoon when we were visiting, Bill and I were sitting on the sofa next to Aunt Helen and she had Peppy on her lap. Bill reached out with his right hand to put his arm around me and quick as a wink, the dog lunged and nabbed Bill’s thumb on his right hand. It scared Bill and he began to shake his hand trying to dislodge his thumb from Peppy’s mouth and the dog kept hanging on. I tried to get the dog in hand but Peppy clenched his teeth, growled and hung on for dear life. About this time, Aunt Helen started to laugh and my reaction was being appalled that she thought this was funny.

I testily said to Aunt Helen, “Why are you laughing? He’s biting Bill!” She laughed again – more heartily – and said, “I know… but I had to have his teeth pulled!” I guess if you’re going to get bit by a dog, the kind to pick would be one that didn’t have any teeth.