Tuesday, November 09, 2010
So Long Rubee Danger
It's my final nightshift before we take off to Mexico. It's Monday night. Plans for tomorrow: walk Rubee, sleep 2-3 hours, agonize about leaving Rubee, pack, agonize about Rubee, bathe Rubee, clip Rubee's nails, paint my own nails, take Rubee to the dog park, feel guilty about leaving Rubee.
Rubee is the love of our lives. She is our adorable, brave, quiet, charming 6.5 month old Airedale Terrier puppy. I loved the idea of her. I loved her truly, madly and deeply from the second I laid my eyes of her tiny black potatoe-with-legs little body. By day 2 I had her sitting to come in the back door, and coming when called. Basically, she learned everything early because I had no idea that there was any such thing as possibly being too young to learn. She's a dogs' dog. The most social little peanut I've ever seen! At the dog park she'll run ahead of us, look back for approval, run ahead, look back, until she's close enough to a pack of dogs that she'll then run, all out, right into the middle of them to say her hellos! I've only met a handful of dogs who haven't liked her and they've all been old meanies.
On Wednesday morning Alex and I are leaving to the Mayan Riviera to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary. I'm so excited for just me and him time! We need this vacation so badly! The whole year has been one thing to the next. Between renos on our house, renos on the condo, getting Rubee, losing our last tenants, seeking our new tenants, my shift work, Alex being on the road every few weeks... it's seems we've lost a little bit of what makes us, us, as a couple. It will be a time to regroup, reconnect, be silly together and forget about all the day to day that can be so distracting, and sometimes seem bigger and more important than we are.
The original plan was to leave Rubee with our new friends, Lexi and Patrick. We met them shortly after we got Rubee, and Rubee is best friends with their 2 year old LabX, Zoey. Lexi had said, "We'll take her for the week!" I thought this was a pretty grand gesture given that we've only been friends for 6 months, and mostly backyard dog-walking friends. But she assured me more than once that it wasn't a problem. Well, it wasn't a problem until Saturday when they returned home from a vacation to Montreal and she asked me, "So have you decided what you're going to do with Rubee while you're gone, yet?" My response, "Um......(long pause) you said you would look after Rubee." At which point she informed me that she could only look after Rubee from Wednesday when we leave to Saturday. Because Sunday, "We have plans." And Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Lexi has to be at the office, and Pat is working, which would leave Zoey running free in the house and Rubee crated up because they would destroy the place running free together. Rubee is crated when we leave her alone and it really wouldn't be fair for one to be locked up and the other free.
So I panic. It's Saturday, we leave on Wednesday, where am I supposed to put the animal that I love more than I ever expected or even understood was possible while I am out of the country and can't oversee or make sure she is happy and loved? Who is going to lover her, and snuggle her, and pick her up so she an rest her head on their shoulder? We only have so many friends in Calgary, since we've only been here for 2 years. And, you can't just ask anyone you casually know to take your dog. That's a lot to ask.
Our only other options are Pam, and Craig. I work with both of them, and they each have new puppies roughly the same age as Rubee, and we all puppy-sit for eachother regularily. A few quick phone calls, and both Pam and Craig offer to, but both turn out to be working on the same days that they are desperately needed for. So, no.
Alex and I drive out to the SW to check out Dog Days and Nights (the place our breeder recommended) only to find that it's a cement shit hole in a ghetto industrial park area of town that has 30-40 dogs there during the day, no one to tend to them at night, and a tiny outdoor gravel yard that is covered in shit. Rubee gets very quiet upon entering, puts her tail between her legs, and has no desire to greet any of the dogs behind the chainlink fence. So, no.
We go home and search online for boarding facilities and find 3 very nice, vacation type spots near Cochrane in the countryside for $25/night. 2 we rule out because they are an hour away and it will be Lexi taking Rubee there. The third is called Springfield Kennels. It's run by a lady and her son who used to breed, maybe still do breed, Labrador Retrievers. Rubee loves labs! It has individual indoor heated kennels that open into large gravel yards, 1 per dog, so they are free to go between the two at their leisure. There is only room for 25 dogs, so better care and attention, and they get 2 long exercise/play sessions with all the other dogs out in the large exercise pen per day. I call the guy, and yes, he has room at the inn. He will accomadate Rubee's raw food diet and he assures me that should she be shy, or timid or require more attention, then it will be given to her. The only sad part, and the only part that is bothering me, is that we have not actually SEEN the facility with our own eyes. Being what I feel to be a very intuitive person, I really wish I could see it. I go so much by what I feel, and the energy of my surroudings that I find it disheartening that I can't feel it out in this way. The guy has constant appointments and is busy until Wednesday. And that's when we leave. Also, what I thought would only be 3 nights there is now 5. Lexi is "busy" on Sunday and doesn't want Rubee all day so she will be dropping Rubee off on Saturday night. And because Alex and I arrive home on Wednesday at 2030, we will be picking Rubee up on Thursday morning. Sigh. I just hope it's nice. I hope we're doing the right thing. I'm sure it's better to do it young, but still, I wish we didn't have to leave her at all! She's never spent a night away from both of us from the day we brought her home. I guess since I'll be missing her, I assume she'll be missing me too.
Rubee is the love of our lives. She is our adorable, brave, quiet, charming 6.5 month old Airedale Terrier puppy. I loved the idea of her. I loved her truly, madly and deeply from the second I laid my eyes of her tiny black potatoe-with-legs little body. By day 2 I had her sitting to come in the back door, and coming when called. Basically, she learned everything early because I had no idea that there was any such thing as possibly being too young to learn. She's a dogs' dog. The most social little peanut I've ever seen! At the dog park she'll run ahead of us, look back for approval, run ahead, look back, until she's close enough to a pack of dogs that she'll then run, all out, right into the middle of them to say her hellos! I've only met a handful of dogs who haven't liked her and they've all been old meanies.
On Wednesday morning Alex and I are leaving to the Mayan Riviera to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary. I'm so excited for just me and him time! We need this vacation so badly! The whole year has been one thing to the next. Between renos on our house, renos on the condo, getting Rubee, losing our last tenants, seeking our new tenants, my shift work, Alex being on the road every few weeks... it's seems we've lost a little bit of what makes us, us, as a couple. It will be a time to regroup, reconnect, be silly together and forget about all the day to day that can be so distracting, and sometimes seem bigger and more important than we are.
The original plan was to leave Rubee with our new friends, Lexi and Patrick. We met them shortly after we got Rubee, and Rubee is best friends with their 2 year old LabX, Zoey. Lexi had said, "We'll take her for the week!" I thought this was a pretty grand gesture given that we've only been friends for 6 months, and mostly backyard dog-walking friends. But she assured me more than once that it wasn't a problem. Well, it wasn't a problem until Saturday when they returned home from a vacation to Montreal and she asked me, "So have you decided what you're going to do with Rubee while you're gone, yet?" My response, "Um......(long pause) you said you would look after Rubee." At which point she informed me that she could only look after Rubee from Wednesday when we leave to Saturday. Because Sunday, "We have plans." And Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Lexi has to be at the office, and Pat is working, which would leave Zoey running free in the house and Rubee crated up because they would destroy the place running free together. Rubee is crated when we leave her alone and it really wouldn't be fair for one to be locked up and the other free.
So I panic. It's Saturday, we leave on Wednesday, where am I supposed to put the animal that I love more than I ever expected or even understood was possible while I am out of the country and can't oversee or make sure she is happy and loved? Who is going to lover her, and snuggle her, and pick her up so she an rest her head on their shoulder? We only have so many friends in Calgary, since we've only been here for 2 years. And, you can't just ask anyone you casually know to take your dog. That's a lot to ask.
Our only other options are Pam, and Craig. I work with both of them, and they each have new puppies roughly the same age as Rubee, and we all puppy-sit for eachother regularily. A few quick phone calls, and both Pam and Craig offer to, but both turn out to be working on the same days that they are desperately needed for. So, no.
Alex and I drive out to the SW to check out Dog Days and Nights (the place our breeder recommended) only to find that it's a cement shit hole in a ghetto industrial park area of town that has 30-40 dogs there during the day, no one to tend to them at night, and a tiny outdoor gravel yard that is covered in shit. Rubee gets very quiet upon entering, puts her tail between her legs, and has no desire to greet any of the dogs behind the chainlink fence. So, no.
We go home and search online for boarding facilities and find 3 very nice, vacation type spots near Cochrane in the countryside for $25/night. 2 we rule out because they are an hour away and it will be Lexi taking Rubee there. The third is called Springfield Kennels. It's run by a lady and her son who used to breed, maybe still do breed, Labrador Retrievers. Rubee loves labs! It has individual indoor heated kennels that open into large gravel yards, 1 per dog, so they are free to go between the two at their leisure. There is only room for 25 dogs, so better care and attention, and they get 2 long exercise/play sessions with all the other dogs out in the large exercise pen per day. I call the guy, and yes, he has room at the inn. He will accomadate Rubee's raw food diet and he assures me that should she be shy, or timid or require more attention, then it will be given to her. The only sad part, and the only part that is bothering me, is that we have not actually SEEN the facility with our own eyes. Being what I feel to be a very intuitive person, I really wish I could see it. I go so much by what I feel, and the energy of my surroudings that I find it disheartening that I can't feel it out in this way. The guy has constant appointments and is busy until Wednesday. And that's when we leave. Also, what I thought would only be 3 nights there is now 5. Lexi is "busy" on Sunday and doesn't want Rubee all day so she will be dropping Rubee off on Saturday night. And because Alex and I arrive home on Wednesday at 2030, we will be picking Rubee up on Thursday morning. Sigh. I just hope it's nice. I hope we're doing the right thing. I'm sure it's better to do it young, but still, I wish we didn't have to leave her at all! She's never spent a night away from both of us from the day we brought her home. I guess since I'll be missing her, I assume she'll be missing me too.
Comments:
Post a Comment
