5 Years Of Dory

Today is a special anniversary for us. It was 5 years ago that we added the first canine member, Dory, to our family. Believe it or not I was very much against getting a dog. James had been asking for one for a long time so after some convincing I agreed. This was with the condition that James would take most of the responsibility of taking care of it. Of course that job eventually fell to me.

Having just been through the family bonding experience of a Disney World vacation I figured getting a dog would be another step toward becoming a truly blended family. I agreed to adopt a dog from the local animal shelter.

Paula had found a small beagle puppy on the Humane Society's website but when she went to the facility it had been adopted. She then saw "Queenie" a former stray up for adoption. She was female and estimated to be about 8 months old. The dog had been brought to the kennel after someone from passing through the area who found her wandering around without a collar on. We adopted her and renamed her "Dory" after one of my favorite characters from the Disney movie "Finding Nemo."

At first life with Dory was a time of a challenge. The most difficult issue was her constant wander lust. Initially Dory wasn't sure she liked living with her new family. Despite having a fence around our backyard; Dory managed to find her way through it and making her escape.

One Sunday morning, about two weeks after we had her, she got out and was about 100 yards from our house when I spotted her. I yelled for her to come back to me but she ran the other way. I only had on my house shoes but I had to go after her. She crossed the road and headed through a wide open farmer's field. The field was rough and muddy because of the winter weather. I tried my best to catch up with Dory but she was getting farther away. Every time I called her she would walk a bit faster. Although I kept after her I was sure she would soon be a dot on the horizon and gone for good. That's when things changed. Suddenly she stopped and proceeded to "answer the call of nature." She was in no position to run so I started going a bit faster. I managed to catch up to her and get a hold of her collar. If she hadn't stopped I would have never caught her.

Even after she decided that she liked living with us. Dory would always make her way out of the fence for self delegated times of wandering around the neighborhood. I would have to find her, catch her and bring her back into the house.

A couple of times she got out I wasn't able to find her. Eventually though she came back home. She would bark at the front door. When I yelled at her for getting out of the yard she would always get this "who me?" grin on her face. Now she does it every time she get caught doing something she knows she's not supposed to be doing. One time she came back home carrying an entire rack of skinned deer ribs she had stolen from some one's yard. I don't know where she got'em but I'm glad she didn't get caught taking them. Around here something like that could get a dog shot.

The other most memorable moment of Dory's first year with us, for me, was in September. I had cleaned her crate and laundered her bedding. I had put the bedding on top of her crate after it was dry until I was ready to reassemble the crate and put her in it for the night. When it came time to go to bed I found Dory in the dog room laying on her bedding on top of the crate. It was one of the funniest and sweetest things I'd ever seen a dog do. I quickly took a picture. That picture and my other favorite Dory picture is at the top of this post.

Yes, it's been 5 years of life with Dory. I think she's spent about 4 of it just lying around sleeping in the living room or in her crate. The rest of it she's spent looking for food. Sleep and food are Dory's 2 favorite things. I believe our 2nd dog, Angel, comes in a close 3rd and going for a walk 4th.

While she's been some trouble and caused some very stressful moments I wouldn't have lived the past 5 years without her. She is a joy and pleasure she brings to my life is unmeasurable. I love getting her to do the tricks I taught her and the affection she shows me every time I walk in the door. I love my Dory and so does everyone else in our family. Happy Anniversary Dory Elizabeth Havens.