Xander celebrated his third birthday on Tuesday! I can't believe it's been three years, but he really does seem "mature" lately. My sweet little man. I adore that dog.
My plan to celebrate his birthday was to take the three dogs to their favorite park after work to swim and chase the frisbee. I used to offer special treats such as canned food to celebrate occassions, but after Kaylee made a huge mess on the carpet the last few times, I've switched my gifts to activities instead of food! It's not as though they don't receive a plethora of treats, toys, and activities on a regular basis as it is....
My plans could easily have been derailed however, as I attended to our normal routine on Tuesday morning. The corgis typically go out to potty first, and I usually walk them on the route least likely to be infested with feces, namely along the sidewalk in front of the complex. We had gone a few buildings down the walk, when a red merle aussie came bounding toward us. At first the corgis did their typical Napolean-complex routine, which involves looking and acting bigger and more intimidating than they are (which is not at all). The aussie, who was about Xander's size, was not daunted and continued toward us. Given her disregard for their antics, the corgis returned to the business at hand, and I was able to pet her. Extremely friendly, obviously young and immature, she bounced and cavorted at me. She was naked, and with no collar and no tags, I feared the worst. Since I had never seen her before, and she was obviously friendly, but a bit overweight and overactive, I immediately assumed someone had dumped her. It is a sad, but all too common situation: person buys a cute, fluffy puppy from the pet store, and one year later finds themselves with a 45lb whirling dervish of energy. Some people are not responsible enough to do the right thing, namely, train the dog, or find it another home, or even take it to a shelter, so they dump it in an area that seems likely for the dog to be taken in by someone. Our complex is reknowned for being pet friendly, and is busting at the seams with dogs of all sizes. I called out in the dark for a potential owner, but heard no reply.
It was still merely 6am at this point, so I groggily turned to head back to the apartment, and decided to see what the little red girl would do. Somewhat surprisingly, she trotted along behind me as though we were long lost bosom buddies, and the corgis allowed it.
When we arrived at my apartment door, she was destracted sniffing a bush, and I ducked inside. After trading out the corgis for Xander, I braced myself for his reaction. Typically, he is fine with other dogs off leash, but if he is on leash, tends to be reactive in areas he deems his territory. Particularly his front door. We walked out and found the girl waiting for us, and in his surprise, Xander barely managed a bark before she was bouncing around enthusiastically toward him. Much to my amazement, his body language relaxed, and we walked out all together. She was very submissive, and off leash, therefore, he seemed to deem her no threat. After Xander had done his business, with our new friend tagging along, I had to make a decision. With no sight of anyone looking for her, I could not leave her out to be hit by a car or otherwise hurt. I decided to open the door, and watched as she trotted right in with Xander.
How many dogs get their own dog for their birthday? Not many, I would suspect, but this was Xander's gift this year. The pair, who were perfectly matched for size, proceeding to wrestle and run about my tiny living room for the thirty minutes it took me to prepare for work. Xander thought she was super fun, and even sexy, as she tolerantly allowed him to hump her several times before he grew tired of it. I was still struggling with what to do when I called Buster for advice. If I tried to lock her in the bathroom or a crate, she might bark and scream all day and disturb our neighbors. I could call the office, but they would tell me I could not keep another dog in my apartment. I could leave her loose in my living room, but she could demolish the place. I had no idea if she was potty trained, or had a penchant for eating couches. However, after talking to Buster and sitting with her on the porch for a bit, I just had a good feeling about her. We agreed to let her loose in the living room with Xander, in the hopes that he would keep her occupied and too tired out to create any havoc. The corgis would stay gated in the back half of the apartment, in the bedroom and bathroom area. I wished for the best, and left for work.
All day long I wondered what I was going to do with this large, mouthy, bouncy, untrained aussie who was very sweet, but roughly 45 lbs. I planned to take her to be scanned for a microchip after work and wished fervently that my apartment would still be mostly intact when I returned home. The first thing I did, after a long day of watching the clock, was to check the community mailbox billboard. My eyes immediately lit upon a picture of her sweet, goofy face. "Lost dog! Sarah slipped out of her leash this morning! She is one year old and VERY friendly, but likes to jump on people. Please call...." I immediately dialed the number, which was a Gainesville area code, and answered by a young woman. She was thrilled when I told her I'd found Sarah, and we agreed to meet on the sidewalk as she was in the building three down from mine.
I rushed back home, found Buster being excitedly greeted by four barking dogs, and grabbed an extra leash to slip around Sara's neck. I quickly told him where I was going, and slipped out the door. Sarah's mom was walking down the sidewalk, and in her excitement, did not bring a leash or anything. I asked her about this, and she said "Oh, she normally stays with me." I replied with a bit of a smirk, "except for this morning, eh?" And she chuckled nervously. She looked to be fresh out of college, or perhaps still in college, which would explain the Gainesville cell phone number. She also explained that this was her first experience with dogs, as she was classically a cat person. Apparently, Sarah was more her husband's dog, which surprised me that he did not come along for the reunion. Since she had no leash, I walked them back to their building, and watched as she attempted to have Sarah sit before going inside. Sarah, much to my chagrin, decided she would rather go with me and bounced around and tried to come along as I turned away. I decided just to stand there until she was ushered inside, and I heard a man's voice exclaim "Sarah!"
It was a happy ending in a way, given that I was able to reunite the dog with her owners and no one was the worse for wear. On the other hand, I am tempted to call her back and remind her to keep a collar with ID on the dog at all times, and to perhaps enroll in some training classes (and get the poor dog more exercise!)
Miraculously, my apartment was completely unscathed, as she had not chewed on anything, nor had she had any accidents. It did not surprise me so much at that point, given that she is accustomed to living in an apartment. However, she could have still destroyed the place. Xander seemed uncharacteristically mellow, so I am thinking they had a fabulous day of wrestling and playing. We also kept our plan of going to the park, although he was not nearly as energetic as normal! All in all, I think he had a good birthday, and I enjoyed doing a little good deed and interacting with a sweet little, red aussie for a short time. Maybe they can have a play date again sometime....and hopefully there will be a red-headed girl in his future one day. (When we have a yard!)
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