If you followed my roster photos of my dog Max you know he suffers from anxiety which was either inherited or caused by an abusive previous owner. If you want to read about some of his anxiety actions then check out A brand new puppy comes home. My wife Terry and I love to travel and have logged over 70 major trips and hundreds and hundreds of weekend jaunts. Of course, Max can attend only a small number of these excursions. So what can we do with Max? If we boarded him in a kennel his anxiety might trigger a heart attack or some major PTSD episodes to which I'd have to spend a fortune on weekly psychiatrist visits. There is no way we could leave him home alone for as sure as our car pulled out of the driveway, he would throw a huge party for his puppy pals and the next thing you known some dam moves in with a bunch of puppies that look just like him. How about leaving him with friends? Due to his anxiety there is only a rare few folks he trusts. His most trusted confidant is my daughter Laura. In the beginning, he would hide behind the sofa and not come out whenever anyone visited our home. Not Laura. It was so shocking to watch him approach her slowly and cautiously at their first encounter. This trust built quickly and she was soon picking him up in her arms and carrying him around the house without him getting bulgy eyed. They romped and played, ate curly fries, howled crazy songs and went on happy little walks. Whenever Laura drove up to our house I would tell Max, "Mary Poppins is here!" And he just knew. It was only natural for us to leave Max with Laura during our travels and of course, she spoiled him. She spoiled me as well. Each and every time I was separated from Max, I worried needlessly about him. Laura sent me multiple photos over the length of the trip which helped to ease my mind. The above photo is just one of hundreds I've kept over the years. Just a little snuggle before bedtime. If dogs could purr..... P.S. Here's a joke Max told at a recent puppy party. "What is the difference between a dog and a fox? Five drinks." |
