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mararupners

Life with this dog can be challenging, and it’s very easy to fall into the trap of focusing on all the negatives. But it’s honestly not all bad all the time, and when I get frustrated I’ve been trying to remind myself of the many really cool things about Ogie the doggie.

For example:

She’s super smart. I think she understands everything I say and many things I don’t.

When it’s time for bed and I say “house” she runs to her crate and calmly and quietly sleeps there all night long so we can sleep too.

When you say “down” she hits the floor like a well-trained soldier.

When she gets to really run, her athleticism and speed is a beautiful thing to watch.

Also, she jumps like deer.

When she’s focused, she is really, really focused.

She has BIG FEELINGS.

When she’s playing hard her tongue hangs out and it is about a mile long.

She is fiercely protective of us all.

She can catch a pop fly.

She can eat a bowl of leftover Cheerios and somehow get all the milk and cereal but leave the banana slices at the bottom of the bowl.

When you’re trying to teach her a new trick and have a really good reward but she doesn’t understand the command yet she gets super excited and does all her things really fast – sit down high five spin I don’t know what to do but OMG just give me the treat please please please.

She likes you to sit down after you come in the door so she can give you a big hug.

Our Story

Some days are just ordinary days, and some days are the kinds of days on which, without warning, everything tilts.

Friday, January 6, 2023 was one of those kinds of days.

I was working from home. My husband Aini took our two-year old dog Ogle to the dog park. It’s their thing. She gets a bunch of exercise and he gets to chit chat with his dog peeps.

They were gone for a long time. And when he got home, he came into my office. Pale. Shaky. He sat down. And proceeded to tell me that Ogle had chased down and brutally attacked another dog. There were multiple deep bites; the other dog was taken to the emergency vet. Ogle didn’t have a scratch.

The next few days were a blur of tears and severe anxiety and text message exchanges with the other owner. The other dog recovered. We drained our savings and borrowed money to pay the vet bills.

We looked at our dog with new eyes. We looked at ourselves with new eyes. What the hell had just happened? And what the hell do we do now?

True confession. After much soul-searching and research, we did try to rehome her. We had visions of her living with more competent owners, on a couple of acres of land, with fewer stressors. A place where she could be who she is. But…an adult dog with a bite history. Who would want to take her? Turns out, nobody.

So here she still is. And here we still are. And this blog is a reflection on our continued journey with this intense, wonderful, complicated, smart, anxious, beautiful and incredibly challenging dog.