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An Office Affair



I have a problem, I am having an office affair. I have a dog, his name is Parker and he is a 10 year old border collie mix. He came into the shelter in Richmond as a nervous dog who had spent the first 7 months on a chain in a back yard. He never spent a day in the kennel, I took him home immediately. Parker soon became my pet and the Richmond SPCA's education dog. I taught him a bunch of tricks and he would go with me to all the school and group visits to highlight how wonderful pets from the SPCA/Humane society can be. And he is special. He has been in a number of TV commercials, he was featured on an Animal Planet show called Adoption Stories and has been in a number of newspapers and magazines. As far as pets go, he is the love of my life. He is the first one to meet me at the door when I get home and if I just walk out to lets say take the trash out, he acts like he hasn't seen me in years and would die with out me. It is a mutual relationship of pure love.

So what a surprise when Angel, a border collie mix, came along. I see many pets come and go and I may have an instant attraction to them and I flirt with the idea of taking them home, but none have captured my heart like Angel. It is a bit crazy because she resembles Parker, physically, but is very different in terms of personality. Angel has been hanging around the office area during the day, she sleeps under my desk, greets me at the door with a wiggle and dance of excitement, enjoys meeting people and dogs that come to visit and is basically what I like to call my office pet. I must admit though she isn't just mine. Lori, our operations manager, is as much in love with her as I am and Angel adores her as well.

It is no surprise that I took Angel home to see how she and Parker would get along. Angel was nervous at first with my Son and husband, which is her M.O. with new people. But after one night she fit right in with the other humans. But, it was funny to see Parker and her trying to figure each other out. Soon competition began and we quickly learned that Angel likes to guard her objects of desire from Parker and unfortunately, that was me and any food item that hit the floor. Angel came back to the shelter.

Thus is why the title of this blog entry is an office affair. I feel guilty loving another dog as much as Parker during the day and then leaving her at night to come home to Parker. Friday of last week I brought Parker in to see if they could try getting along one more time and she was the ruler of the roost, letting Parker know that I and the office was hers not his. Parker was miserable all day with the power plays. No fights ensued but the stares Angel gave him were strong warnings.

Finding Angel a new home would be ideal, but it will take a very special person to deserve her. Thinking about her leaving creates a mini panic attack in me and I know will result in a broken heart. Angel deserves more than being an office affair and I know eventually she will leave us for her own family but for now I will enjoy having her around and sharing my heart with her.

Comments

  1. tedhuntApril 4, 2010 at 10:40 AM

    LHS has a shelter office cat....why not a shelter office dog to make it fair?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Becky GApril 4, 2010 at 4:50 PM

    I agree with 'tedhunt' that it would only be fair to have an office dog along with the office cat .... but, with Angel guarding what she believes belongs to 'her', she wouldn't get along with ANY dog, not just Parker.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Makena YarbroughApril 4, 2010 at 10:54 PM

    The interesting thing is Becky, she is great cats and with other dogs in general it is just a problem over food primarily. She is the best I have seen with puppies, very motherly, and she really does well reading other dogs and knowing how to play with them. I think Parker being a guarder as well caused the problems to be aggravated. I honestly want her to find the right home because in the long run, it is what is best for her.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Becky GApril 4, 2010 at 11:14 PM

    She sounds like a very special dog, and her being able to 'read other dogs' is wonderful. I do hope she finds the right owner who will give her lots of TLC like you (and Lori) have done.

    ReplyDelete

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