Dogged Determination

While I was in the hospital delivering my bundle of joy, my canine bundle of joy was at camp contracting the latest strain of influenza. I found the manner in which the staff at his former camp handled this to be less than professional and courteous and decided to shop around for a new camp for my dear Dodger.

What I found was the "prestigious" Hounds on the Hudson. Rather than the single, small room that holds dogs of all sizes and energy levels, HOTH is home to 3 large dog runs of varied size and level, one even being outdoor. Not to mention, not all dogs are admitted but must pass an interview first! I loved the exclusivity of it all and decided to sign Dodger up immediately.

We arrived for our interview and felt a bit underwhelmed by the exterior of the building. I pictured a large, rambling Victorian home on acres of land overlooking the Hudson River. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, especially since I'd seen pictures online of a modern looking red brick building with sharp black signs. However, said building was not on the Hudson, but stuck in the middle of a horribly narrow street in the middle of a somewhat shady neighborhood. Additionally, you and your beloved pup (and 12 lb baby strapped to your chest) had to climb an extremely steep and long staircase up to the facility. Oh, and did I mention there was no parking?

Regardless, the grounds and staff were great. They fawned all over Dodger, as I expect most people to do, despite his wild behavior, running rampant, slamming keyboard drawers shut and jumping all over anyone who made eye contact with him. Then it was time to get down to the business of the interview. The owner nodded to her sidekick and said "Bring out Trina". Sidekick opened a door to an office and a cool and confident Boxer mix strode out. Dodger immediately started straining on his harness to hop all over Trina who quickly corrected him with a swift paw and a stern growl. Dodger backed off and waited for her next cue. Instead, Trina took that opportunity to gently crawl up my body and peek in the top of my Baby Bjorn. Owner and Sidekick were mortified and quickly called her off and ushered her back into her office. Because I truly believe that dog put on a pair of eyeglasses and returned to her computer when the door was closed. 

Needless to say, Dodger was accepted and we boarded him for an entire week while we went on vacation. Even though I missed him desperately, I felt more confident with him there than I did at the former camp which was seemingly run by 17 year old girls. When I called to check in I was given full reports of the fun he was having, and when we returned home I felt mildly paranoid that he wasn't happy to see us. In the days that followed, he was increasingly mopey and I would often find him glaring at me for no reason. One day, Ryan offered this bit of crushing wisdom: "I think now that he knows that there is an alternative lifestyle out there he's pretty disappointed with his home life".

I couldn't believe it. We spoiled this dog rotten, and to think he was disappointed with what we had to offer in comparison to his new camp? I was determined to change his mind. I plopped the baby in the stroller, strapped Dodger into his harness, and tore out of the building at lightning speed. I let him stop at every telephone pole, fire hydrant, corner, trash can, mailbox, you name it, I let him sniff away as if we had all day. An hour later, we finally made it 6 blocks to the dog run. I plucked a brand new fuzzy green tennis ball out of the bottom of the stroller and began chucking it as hard as I could across the dog run, as if I were competing in the Lightweight Strongest Man in the World competition. From there we strolled along the water, and then hit the super fancy and overpriced pet store, where I purchased $40 in treats and toys. On the way back home we stopped at another park and desperately searched for a playmate, and luckily ran into Body, who was happy to roughhouse for a few minutes. By this time, it was nearly dark, my baby needed to eat, and I probably should have been thinking about starting dinner. Instead I decided to braise some chicken thighs for Dodger, which I would serve over white rice.

It wasn't until I heard Ryan's key hit the lock that I snapped out of my manic state. Both dog and baby were staring at me with matching bewildered expressions as I was pulling a tray of homemade peanut butter dog treats out of the oven. Ryan took a slow look around the kitchen and living room at the disarray that I so uncharacteristically left behind, before landing on my disheveled hair and wild eyes. He picked up the baby, patted Dodger on the head, and gave me a hug and kiss before whispering, "Babe...go to bed".

I woke up the next day a little worse for the wear, but also resigned to the fact that I couldn't compete with camp. And why did I even want to? If I'm that obsessed with my dog then shouldn't I want him to have a place to look forward to while we're off living it up on vacation without him? I understand this is not normal behavior. Nor is logging into the camp's webcams every 15 minutes to observe playtime when we are away. I was exhausted and I didn't have time for such nonsense anymore..especially now that I had a baby to spoil!