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Monday, March 20th 2006

10:42 AM

Memories of a young dog

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This is one of the very first photos I ever took of Stimpy. He was about a year old here. I didn't have a camera back then so there are no photos of him as a baby. I really wish there was. Anyhoo, I know I have more photos of him, I think I may have some where he is as young as just a few months old.  I am going to go searching for them this week, and I'll post them when I find them. Stimpy was SO weird looking as a baby...he definitely improved with age!

 
I moved out of my parents house on December 1st, 1992. I found a nice, cheap one bedroom apartment on the other side of town in an area of Brantford that before then, I never even knew existed. It didn't take me a week of living there to realize that I had just moved into a really assy neighbourhood. A week after I moved in, my boyfriend dropped me off around midnight and I walked in the back door of the apartment building, and there was a half dead guy laying in the stairwell. He was bleeding profusely and a cop was there, telling him to hold on. I stepped over him and ran to my apartment, scrambling for my keys. I entered my dark apartment and ran around turning all the lights on. I flopped on my bed and cried. What kind of building had I just moved in to?
 
From that moment on, every time my boyfriend would drop me off at night, he would walk me up to my apartment and wait for me to check all the rooms to make sure that no weirdo had broken in while I had been out. I slept on my couch with the TV and lights on every night. I didn't sleep well at all.  I remember one night I woke up with some weirdo guy banging on my door and making obscene gestures with his tongue via the peephole. Another night some idiot banged on my door for twenty minutes screaming how he loved me...only to discover that he had the wrong door. Then he crawled to the next door and went on with the same scene.
 
I was a wreck! I couldn't afford to move, and I was too proud to move back in with my parents. That's when I decided that I needed a room mate. Not a human room mate, but a fluffy one that could bark and scare people away.
 
My family had a Schnauzer, Dudley. He was a fabulous silvery fellow, with a thick grey beard and shiny black eyes. Being that I grew up with such a fluffy little guy, I of course went looking for something very Schnauzer-like for myself, as it was all I knew. I actually wanted a Westhighland White Terrier, but I couldn't afford a purebred dog of any kind. I was making a fairly good living as a waitress at the time, but I certainly couldn't afford an $800 dog. I realized that the local dog pound was the way to go. The first day that I went to the local dog pound, I found a pretty little Shih-Tzu with a bad eye. I wanted him desperately. The animal control officer told me that he would be up for adoption in 3 days, as they have to wait 3 days after bringing a dog in to allow their owner time to claim their pet. If 3 days go by and no owner shows up, then the dog is put up for adoption. So the animal control officer assured me that it was first come first serve, and if I came back in 3 days and was first in line, then I'd get that dog. 
 
So I went out, bought a little dog bed and made some doggie dishes with the name 'STIMPY' on them. I set my apartment up to accomodate this little Shih-Tzu and waited patiently for those 3 days to be up. Finally the third day came;  I woke up early and drove to the Animal shelter. I was the first one there. I got there at 8am, and the doors opened at 10. I knew that 'Stimpy' was as good as mine! So at 10 o'clock on the nose, the animal shelter worker showed up. Behind her, a mini van came rolling in with some middle aged woman in it.  The animal control officer opened the door, and I happily stepped inside. The mini-van lady came in behind me, about two seconds later.
 
"I'm here for the Shih-Tzu!" I said, excitedly.
The animal control officer looked me up and down; keep in mind, I was 19 years old and looked like I was 13.  The animal control officer scrunched her face dissaprovingly and turned her gaze to the mini-van lady behind me.
"Is anyone else here for the Shih-Tzu?" The animal control officer asked. Of course, the woman behind me said, "Yes, I saw him yesterday and came back this morning to adopt him."
"I was here first..." I said, trying not to sound childish. I was getting concerned. "I was told that it was first come first serve."
"Well, you'll both have to fill out applications and then we'll decide from there who we feel should get the dog."  I knew right away that this ugly, hairy nasty animal control officer was not going to give that dog to little tiny 19 year old me. I looked like a sweet little girl and I could tell right away that this animal control woman would have rather eaten that Shih-Tzu than give it to me. Not because I was incompetent, but because I was young.  They didn't even ask my age, occupation, address, etc. on that application. I could have been the wife of a veterinarian and a seasoned dog trainer and they would never have known it. After filling out the 'application' (name, address, phone number) They decided of course that the Shih-Tzu would be better off with this second in line lady than with me. It was total discrimination. I was heartbroken. I cried and cried in that office and the stupid officer said to me, "There are plenty of other dogs in the back that are available for you to adopt." And I said..."WELL WHY AM I GOOD ENOUGH FOR THEM BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE SHIH-TZU??" Good point eh? That totally proved to me that they just didn't like me because of my appearance; some people are discriminated against for being too old or ugly, I was discriminated against for just the opposite! Even recalling the memory now just makes me so angry.
 
I was heartbroken. I came home and saw 'Stimpy's' dishes sitting there, filled with food and I had no Stimpy to eat from them. I cried and cried; not just because I didn't get the dog, but because I had been treated so unfairly. I never forgot that feeling of total discrimination. I know now that happened for a reason....because of that animal shelter workers bad attitude and unfairness towards me, I was brought to the real Stimpy...
 
It was the following day that I went out to this little pet store just down the road from this assy apartment complex that I was living in. My boyfriend and his brother came with me. I can't remember the name of the store offhand, but it wasn't in business for very long at all. Now that I'm older and I know better, I would NEVER buy a dog from a pet store. However as I mentioned above, I tried to adopt a dog from a shelter, and look how that worked out...but I digress...
 
So I went into this little store just a few days before my birthday. I wanted to get a dog damnit, and I was going to get one for my birthday. I walked into this pet store, and they only had one little dog there. He was behind glass and I think he was chewing something when I first saw him. He was weird looking. I mean really weird. He was not a fluffy little bunny-like dog at all. He was certainly no Westie or Shih-Tzu. I didn't know what he was.
 
"He's a pitbull/pug." Said this big biker guy behind the counter, as if he could read my mind.
"A what?" I said, as I squinted my eyes and leaned in for a closer look at the puppy.
"He's a Pitbull/Pug. His name is 'Hootch'. His brother and Sister, 'Pebbles and Bam-Bam' are for sale at the mall. They're charging double what I'm charging for this guy. We've had him a while. If no one takes him, my family is going to. He's a great little dog, he loves pizza and beer."
 
I immediately thought, 'there is no way that dog is coming home with me.' He was nothing like what I was looking for at all. Somehow, my boyfriends brother got this bug eyed little monster out of his cage behind the glass and was playing with him. He was a very friendly puppy indeed. He wouldn't stop licking my boyfriend and his brother. I petted him and decided that he was kind of cute, in his own little way.
 
His head was completely black, and his body was a deep orange/brown brindle colour. The more I looked at him, the more I realized just how neat his coat was. My boyfriend and his brother immediately started trying to convince me to buy him. He was $150. I only had half that.  My boyfriend convinced me that this was the dog for me, as he would grow up to look kind of mean, and that's the kind of muscle I needed while I was living on my own. He would provide companionship as well as protection, which a Shih-Tzu certainly couldn't really do for me.  I reluctantly gave in, and brought the new 'Stimpy' to my home.
 
Well, that's the jist of it. I hate to say it, but it certainly wasn't 'love at first sight' for me and Stimpy.  I had never owned my own dog before, so it took a very long time before I got the hang of things with Stimpy. Stimpy was a HORRIBLE puppy. He was so destructive and agressive, I didn't know how to deal with him at all!  I'd say it was a good 6 months before I felt completely comfortable being a dog owner, and it was probably 6 months before I really fell in love with Stimpy. Stimpy taught me so many things about dogs, and about myself. If I hadn't met him, I wouldn't be the animal lover that I am today. Stimpy changed my life and I owe so much to him.
 
 
 
 
For this next week, my whole family will be writing their own journal entry's here. They will be telling their own stories about how they came about meeting Stimpy, and what their first impression of him was etc.
10 Barks left by others.

Posted by Life with Manu:

Oh what a great story!
But ERRRRR that pound makes me SO mad Tho I'm so glad you ended up with the Stimpy you did! You both ended up adding so much to each others lives!

The picture above is just adorable

Can't wait to hear what your family has to say!
Monday, March 20th 2006 @ 5:14 PM

Posted by Joylene MacBurnie:

it goes to show when one door closes a window opens.. Stimpy was ment for you and he loved you from the first sight
Thursday, March 23rd 2006 @ 10:52 PM

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