*I am writing this out for my own good, but feel free to read along*
Okay. So about 6 years ago I got a dog. A 3 month old deaf puppy. Actually, my sister found her around some dumpsters and I took pity on the poor thing and took her in. The vet said that she is deaf probably from abuse as a young puppy.
Her name is Cali.
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She is a good dog. She trains with hand signals very easily. She is currently up for adoption.
Let me try to explain myself.
See, when I took her in 6 years ago, I had just been married and had a house with a doggy door - so clearly, I needed a dog. And I love dogs, have always been around dogs, and wanted one so bad- so this was perfect!
I wasn't thinking about my future.
I was raised to think that I can do anything that I put my mind to. And in most respects, I can!
This, though, is too difficult for me in this chapter of my life. I have a toddler, an infant, and a husband who works all of the time. I now don't have a yard with a fence, so now Cali has to either be taken for a walk (which isn't going to happen from me) or put out on a 20 foot chain. This is no life to live. I can't pay any attention to her - I have too much going on! I wipe my childrens' butts all day everyday, I don't need to clean up pee from the carpet or poop out of the yard from the dog. I also don't need to clean up dog food that she's drug everywhere...I do enough picking up cereal and drink cups off of the floor from Elli. When Cali does something around the house that she shouldn't, I yell at Elli when she comes around (because I'm mad and probably because Levi is screaming and I had to lay him down because Cali did something in the floor that she knows better than to do), and it's not fair to Elli that I do that. It isn't fair to Cali either, because then I lock her up in her crate. Come spring, I won't be able to just let Elli go out to play because I'll have to pooper-scoop the yard. How am I supposed to do that with a baby too? I just emotionally can not handle having a dog right now. She deserves more than I can give her at this moment in my life.
Cali really is house trained. The people before us had dogs, so that is why I am guessing that she has peed in the floor several times.
Cali is also crate trained.
She is good with kids - very tolerant. She is good with other animals and loves people. She never bites. She is deaf, so maybe that's why she doesn't really ever bark - unless she is surprised - and then we are usually surprised because she barked. She is generally well behaved - she goes a little wacky when people come over, but settles down once she's said hello. She is trained to ring bells when she wants to go outside, and there isn't a better behaved dog on a car ride. She knows how to sit, stay, stop, lay down, shake, and roll over with hand signals. She is good at looking where we point and follows that direction - like if we throw a ball and she doesn't see where it goes. She doesn't chew on anything that she's not supposed to. She trains easily. She walks on a leash pretty well - the more she is walked, the less she tugs and usually walks right beside me (well, she used to....when I had time). She likes to know your whereabouts all the time and is a follower. Because she is deaf, when I had her spayed, I had them put a chip under her skin in the case that she would run off - since I can't holler for her - and it was actually put to good use the one time that she ran off!
Anyways. I am, lately, a bad pet owner. Since I started typing, I have flip-flopped numerous times about whether or not to keep trying or to adopt her out. She needs adopted out. It is my pride, and love for animals, that would keep her here - but she needs more than I can give her. I need to find this poor dog a new, loving, attention giving home that she deserves so much.
