Within a few months, Joey (named after a character from one of my daughter's favorite TV shows) had been picked up by the neck and shaken by a large rottweiler, developed a biting response to being touched on the back of the neck, and come to live with me. A couple years later, when my daughter and her family moved to another city, Joey stayed with me.
She'd been K-9 trained and had a large yard in which to run around and hold dominion over everything that moved. She made friends with the pit bulls who lived next door, making a game of barking at them through the fence every time she saw them, and she loved nothing better than when they would jump the fence and run around the oaks a few times with her before they made their break around the end of the fence line where it dropped into the water. She didn't like getting wet and wouldn't go with them.
But her problems with strangers continued, and she developed a habit of barking wildly and shaking the chain link fence with her teeth when any dog walked by in the street. (I've seen that habit in other chows, so I wonder if that part of her aggressive behavior tends to be a fault in the breed, rather than a fault in the dog.)
She didn't trust her vet (the first day she met him, he walked in the doors behind her, dressed in black motorcycle leathers and helmet) but loved the staff in his office. So, she was always well taken care of and welcome to board with them when I traveled. And she eventually began to let him touch her without having to muzzle her.
As she grew older, calcium deposits developed in her hips and shoulder, and the touch of a hand to a joint could cause her pain. The habit of shaking the chain link fence and the metal bars on her crate cracked her teeth. And her fear of strangers increased to the point where she began to respond aggressively to any approach by a stranger, outside of the house. When I recently moved to a new city, she refused to accept a new vet or any of his staff members. She became so fearful of strange people and dogs that she was involved in three fights (She was in a harness and on a leash and they were not! Shame on you if you let your dog run off leash!) and last weekend made an aggressive charge on a boy we encountered while walking in the woods. (She was, again, in harness and on leash, so there was no harm done, but she gave all of us a good scare!)
And so, she has gone to the rainbow bridge, where all her pain and fears are relieved. I spent most of Monday catering to her every whim, and then I sat down to write this apology to her for all the mistakes we made with her over the years that led us to this sad end to her life. Joey, my girl, I will miss you! Thank you for being my devoted companion for all these years.
(Update: this morning, Joey greeted Dr. Zern and his staff at the Chuluota Veterinary Hospital as if they were old friends. I thank all of them for the help and support they gave me over the years, especially this morning--it's Tuesday afternoon as I add this note.)
