Happy Day and Thank You for visiting with us! We’re getting a bit personal today.

The intended purpose of my Writing Pages here, just like my Little Red Bear Adventure story books, has always been to entertain, inform, and educate a bit along the way.

Having been thru so much this year dealing with various health issues and strong encouragement from my family to do so (after sixteen surgeries, one of my sons remarked that I should be an expert in preparing for them), after a good deal of reflection, I decided that perhaps sharing bits and pieces of my personal life and some of the issues I deal with from time to time might be helpful and of benefit to others. Hoping so, anyway.

Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) with all that entails (a list in and of itself), Degenerative Disc and Joint Disease, Autoimmune Disease, Neuropathy, Numerous Surgeries for Joint Repairs and Replacements, Dental, and other general issues related to Aging are a few of the things at work here. I consider myself blessed that so far all of my issues have been confined to the superstructure (bones, joints, tendons, etc.) and nerves, with otherwise good organ health overall.

With both hips replaced and many levels of my spine fused together, I am about as flexible as a 2″ x 4″ these days and require the use of several tools and assistive devices to get dressed in the morning and carry out other daily functions. So I thought that talking about those things now and then, along with information on the various tools and implements I routinely use or have tried unsuccessfully along the way, might help and allow others to learn and benefit from my experiences.

Please let me know in the Comments if you think this would be of interest or benefit from time to time . . . . . .

But today, we are talking about my little dog companion, Allie.

Allie is a sweetheart, thru and thru. She loves people, especially those with treats (and there are many here in the Senior Complex where we live!), and on occasion has been known to tolerate other dogs, as long as they have a properly signed sidewalk pass to trek thru her territory. Her “Territory”, of course, being the sidewalks and streets surrounding the seniors’ community where we live.

Allie is a spayed female and is around eleven years old. I adopted her a couple years ago to save her from being dropped off at the animal shelter, bringing her into my home when the living situation with a two-year-old boy became unworkable for her original family. Small dogs and small children are seldom a good match.

Getting back to the story, last week Allie and I were dog and pet-sitting at one of my sons’ homes while he and my daughter-in-law were away on vacation, something I do for them nearly every year around this time. This was Allie’s second tour of pet-sitting duty with me.

My son and his wife have two adorable little Pugs, a black and a fawn-colored one, both neutered males around four and three years old. He also has a fully-grown Blue-phase Tegu Lizard, “King Louie”, and several assorted others including geckos, snakes, tarantulas, African frogs, and others. My duties are limited to taking care of the dogs, the Tegu, and the geckos. They have a fenced backyard where, along with the two pugs, my little chihuahua can run and explore along with them off-leash. A real treat for her since we are required to walk solely on leash here when out and about.

From prior years, I was aware of a small opening in the chainlink fences at a back corner of the yard, where three fence poles come together but do not meet. The opening is too small to be an issue for my son’s chunky little pugs but could be passable for my slim little chihuahua. Right off the bat, the first thing I did both last year and this year was to block off that opening so Allie would not be tempted to go off on an adventure and explore the area. We are a good match that way, always wanting to discover what is over the next hill and around the next corner.

Tragedy nearly struck last Friday afternoon, however, when Allie discovered a new, small opening at the bottom of a wooden, privacy fence gate leading to the front yard that I was unaware of. I opened the back door and called the dogs in after they had been out for just a few minutes. The pugs both charged in as they did, but no Allie. I went into the yard to look for her and searched all over, but she was nowhere to be found. Repeated loud calls of her name yielded nothing. Rushing thru the house to the front, I called over and over again. Allie was nowhere in sight and not responding.

Trips back and forth thru the house, front yard to back yard to front yard to back yard were fruitless. I had no car to drive the neighborhood, and with my health and mobility issues, was unable to go anywhere to search for her. I remembered that I had never gotten around to ordering a dog tag for her. There was no way for anyone to get her back to me.

Panic began to set in! Allie was lost! A tiny little dog out in the big, dangerous world. All alone! Lost and alone, unfamiliar with the sights and sounds in a strange new neighborhood. With absolutely no regard whatsoever for vehicles or crossing the street, how long would she last without me to pull her back and keep her safe?!? There was no way my little Allie could find her way back. Rushing from back to front and back again over and over, if I wasn’t praying I was cussing, and if I wasn’t cussing I was praying! After about twenty or so minutes, I was giving up hope and beginning to reconcile that I had lost my dog. She was gone!

Returning thru the house from yet another front yard calling session, I stepped out the back door and suddenly there she was, racing up the hill towards me from the wooden gate, never taking her eyes off me and echoing the same panic-stricken look that I had on my face.

Somehow, some way, Allie had found her way back from wherever she had been off exploring, remembered the hole in the wooden gate, squeezed back thru, and made it safely into the backyard again. I give total credit and thankfulness to God, because I had reached the point of despair, resolved that she was gone, and trying to figure out how to break the news to others at home where we live. God be praised!

Allie, along with the two pugs of course, immediately received a tasty and yummy Bacon & Cheese flavored treat to welcome her back! Despite my emotional state, there was no scolding, no punishment, no corrections. Simply affection and praise to welcome her back. The story of the Prodigal Son came to mind. Praise God, Allie had returned and was back.

It should go without saying, that the hole at the bottom of the wooden gate was immediately blocked and covered over with concrete blocks, along with assorted sticks and leafy twigs to deter future exploration out of the yard. And — a shiny, new, stainless steel ID tag is on the way in the mail, too!

Sharing this personally embarrassing story, there are hopefully some lessons for us all, at least dog owners, perhaps.

Admittedly, right here for all to see — I am not perfect. I had intended all along to get an ID tag for Allie just in case something like this might happen at some point. I didn’t. No excuse. There was always something coming up to distract me when thinking about it, or at other times it just slipped my mind altogether. Shame on me. I expect and demand better of myself than that, especially when someone else is depending on me to protect and/or provide for them, as Allie does.

Also, after hearing the story, several folks here have asked or commented — “Boy, I’ll bet you gave her what-for after she came back!” Or — “Did you scold and let her have it?” “Did you punish her?” “No treats for two weeks for you, little lady!”

Again, having had and trained dogs for many years, my only response after she found her way back was loving affection. Scolding, yelling, hitting, or punishing a dog at such a time is only teaching the dog NOT to come back next time!  And I have found that practice works with children, too. And, employees for that matter. The subject of her disappearance has never come up in discussion since, because Allie would have no idea what in the world I was talking or upset about. That near-catastrophe was on me, not her.

My story character friend Little Red Bear would explain it this way — “If every time you walk out into the barnyard and a duck comes up to you, whether you called it or not, and then you conk it on the head with a stick, it won’t be long before that duck stops coming to you, whether you have a tasty treat in your hand, or not.”

Thank you again for visiting today!

And please, do let me know if you enjoyed this little bit of “life share” and would like to see more posts like this, about true life experiences both health-related and not.

I have always been reticent to share such things from my personal and private life, but if you enjoyed this and think entries such as this may help or benefit others along the way, please do let me know, because helping and benefiting others is what it is all about here.

None of us are perfect, and we all struggle with issues of one sort or another as we journey along the life path set before us. Sometimes, it’s good to know that we are not alone and that we have company along the way.

Sending along best wishes for a Beautiful Autumn and coming months in your neck of the woods.

Until next time — Best Wishes & Blessings! — Jim  (and Red!) 🤠 🐻 🍂 🧡 🍎 🌻 🍁

In A World Where You Can Be Anything — Be Kind. Because Kindness Matters!

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If you enjoyed this piece, you may also like — “Happy October — The Gateway To Autumn & The Holiday Season!” and “Wishing You Deep Peace, Love, Happiness, and Joy –  And A Very Good Day!” 

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