Ebony - The Man Hater

I hope everyone is having a very Happy New Year!!!  I had a wonderful holiday filled with family and friends.  I was kindof stumped as to what to write about this week.  It's kindof hard to follow such a wonderful subject as poop eating!!  I decided to write about what I know and that is my wonderful pets at my home.  As I have told you before I would like to pretend that all my animals are just the picture of perfection!  This unfortunately is not the case....  They do things that make me want to pull out my hair but then do something so funny/cute I decide they can stay!

I wanted to start with Ebony, since I have had her the longest.  Ebby came to me when I worked at a vet clinic in Oklahoma.  She was 8 months old and a repeat escapee from her former home.  The former owner brought her in for euthanasia because she got fined every time the dog got out.  I was coerced into taking this curly haired and frightened dog home.  Ebby was supposed to be a pet shared by my brother and me, 'two independent college students'.  Weeeellll, Ebby had other ideas, she took one look at my brother and decided she would rather not.  I believe that Ebby had a rough start in life and either was treated badly by men or maybe just never saw one?  It took her a good 2-3 years to develop any kind of fondness for anyone of the male gender.  If given the choice back then Ebby would have stayed at my side 24/7.  During that time she escaped from my brother during the night and he 'reports' he was running down the street barefoot chasing the dog!  LOL!  He had to call my friend who lived down the street to come catch her!!  That was terrifying at the time but now I get a pretty good chuckle out of it!  Ebby has slowly worked out of her man-aversion, but will still pick a lady to sit with first. 

Ebby also had separation anxiety when I first got her.  If left out to roam the house she would destroy pretty much anything she could get her mouth on.  Flip flops and toilet paper were her favorite.  I immediately started crate training and we enrolled in obedience classes.  The obedience class was the best idea; I recommend it to anyone that has a dog.  I really learned more than Ebby did.  This is something I have been able to use as a veterinarian and with my other animals.  The classes helped Ebby develop more confidence and helped me teach her reasonable rules and guidelines.

Ebby made it through vet school with me and is now living the life of a queen.  I now have more time to spend at home and taking her to the P-A-R-K (you gotta spell it or she goes crazy).  She comes to work with me a lot and she has a bed in my office and a kennel up front where her and June can monitor the clinic activity.  When she arrives at work she has to make the rounds to see all the staff and make sure they all tell her she's beautiful!  She also occasionally sneaks up to the reception area and visits with the clients.  With Ebby this is all most likely treat motivated...   

Ebony has turned into a great little dog.  It took time and a lot of patience but she has paid me back twice over, with her unconditional devotion.  I think that most dogs can be 'great' dogs with some patience and work on the part of 'us' the humans.  The thing I tell clients all the time is that dogs are dogs, no matter what; they are going to do dog things on occasion.  This maybe chewing you cell phone, or peeing on the floor, even digging up your prize rose bush!  But you know what, you just gotta roll your eyes and smile, because what else are you going to do...