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On August 22nd our beloved standard schnauzer of 11yrs,
'Heidi', had to be put down. She developed a brain lesion and lost her ability to function. Not even the vets
in Guelph University could help her so we had to do the humane thing and release her from this world.
Two weeks after Heidi's death we got a 9 month old poodle
puppy. For the past 2 weeks Buddie was very content having the full attention of 3 adults. So when this black
furry animal joined us Buddie thought this too was for her benefit. As she eyeballed our newest addition I new
Buddie was thinking "Great!!! A new preening toy! This should be fun!" Much to Buddie's displeasure
things didn't quite work out that way.
Due to a genetic, super submissive tendency "Hannah",
was beaten up as a pup by the other dogs at the breeder's place and as a result she was a very timid, wild, frightened
animal. I couldn't get within 4 feet of her. After two weeks of gentle cuddling, soft talking, waiting 2 hours
for her to lick peanut butter off my finger, and sharing 1/2 of my bed with her Hannah decided that I was her new mommy. Two
years later she is still my baby. Unfortunately for Buddie, this means I have to be "shared". Buddie is very
very jealous of Hannah and will bite and lunge at her any chance she gets. In Buddie's eyes, Hannah came
out of no where and stole me from her. I try to spend equal time with Buddie but Hannah's temperment demands a lot
of work. And the fact that Hannah lost a lot of weight and requires special recipes that I have to make also cuts down
on my time. However Buddie is appeased with many new toys and a regular supply of chewing cardboard.
UPDATE: Buddie has made amends
with Hannah and now her only interest in Hannah is to preen her fur. Hannah will allow this as long as Buddie is gentle.
(All of this is extremely closely supervised by me of course!!!) Due to a genetic illness (ehlers danlos syndrome type
3 for thos interested) I have had to start to do my schooling at home as I battle chronic pain, joint injuries, and no longer
have the stamina/energy to attend classes. Buddie is delighted with this new developement and spends more time then
ever with me:-D I have trained Hannah to be my own mobility service dog and she now helps me out every day with tasks
like picking up things I drop, helping me dress/undress, open/shut low cupboard drawers etc... Because of her temperment
she must remain an inhome only service dog.
| Hannah working as Rhea's in home service dog |
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| This is Hannah performing her "take-hold-give" task that I taught her to pick things up for me. |
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| Raphael ("Raphey"), the newest edition to our family |
Raphael (Raphey) joined us Sept 28th 2002. Because
Hannah gave my parents the cold shoulder every time they showered her with affection, a year later they decided to get a puppy
from the same breeder and try again. Buddie doesn't consider Raphey to be much of a threat, and enjoys watching him
bug the bejebers out of Hannah.
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