Pet of the Month - January 2014 - Decker

The World is My Chew Toy

When I lost my dog of four years to illness, I not only thought that my heart would break in two, but that I’d never, ever, be able to open my heart to another pet.

I was wrong.   About three weeks into the grieving process I knew that the fastest way to heal my heart was to give it away.

Enter Decker!

Like many contemporary couples we met “on line.”  A regional search on Pet Finder for a young male dog, medium sized, border collie mix put me in touch with a no kill shelter in Fort Madison.  Decker (or Buddha as they were calling him) had been in residence for nearly a year.  After seeing his profile picture and reading his bio which described him as  friendly, loving, and playful, I was ready to meet him.

And he was everything they described… and MORE…although I’m still a bit skeptical on the border collie mix thing.

Decker IS friendly AND loving AND playful.  I have never had a pet that was so generous with the smooches or so insistent that personal space was highly overrated!  I mean, why sit WITH you when it’s so much more fun to sit ON you!

Unfortunately, twelve months in the shelter didn’t do much for developing his social graces, help him develop a sense of personal self control or allow him to form an appropriate sense of boundaries.  Seven throw pillows, one Raggedy Ann Doll, a roll of toilet paper, four sofa cushions, one slipper and one back pack later (and that’s just what he destroyed the first day), Decker has developed into a perfect gentleman, capable of being allowed into almost any room without fear that he will destroy it!

However, his new social charms have NOT diminished his love of fun!  In terms of playful, Decker loves a rousing game of fetch and is most fond of “catch me if you can.”  But by far his favorite game of all is puzzles.  This dog LOVES a puzzle…a challenge…something to test his strength, stamina, patience and fortitude.  What do I mean?  I mean an endless supply of 25 cent stuffed animals from Goodwill hidden in various locations around the house for him to find and love.  A small treat hidden inside an old kickboxing glove took a record 90 minutes for him to find and retrieve.  I learned a lot about how kickboxing gloves are made that day!  I mean a small piece of low fat string cheese stuffed inside a hollow chew bone, stuffed inside a stuffed elephant, stuffed inside an old pillow case, stuffed inside…well, you get the picture!

Nearly five months ago I couldn’t imagine myself with another dog.  And now, I can’t imagine myself with anyone but Decker.  It’s hard to know who has rescued who.