“I am taking her back.”
Those were the first words I heard the morning after Abby’s first night at our house. All it would have taken from me was one word in order for me to get my original wish of not having a new dog: Okay. At first I was bewildered and upset that my mom would give up so soon and easily. For me, this was a reflection of a personality trait in her that I didn’t like, but I won’t go into detail about it. I also felt sorry for Abby that someone would so whimsically take her back like she was something bought at a department store at the mall.
Between the coffee table and the couch, Abby was lying on the floor chewing on a bone. She looked up at me with those beautiful green eyes and had such an endearing look. Abby always had expressive looks. I thought she was so pretty that I didn’t have the heart to send her back.
When I asked my mom why she wanted to take Abby back, she said that Abby was restless the whole night, walked around the bedroom, kept her up and used the bathroom on the floor. The neat-freak in my mom was rearing its ugly head.
I made a bargain with my mom. “Let me take her to bed tonight and stay in my bed. If she behaves, then we will keep her.” My bed was already pushed all the way in the corner of the room and had a footboard and headboard. With me at one side of the bed, the bed essentially served as a crate for Abby. I didn’t know about crating at the time, but I luckily stumbled upon on an effective way to keep Abby still at night and from going to the bathroom in the house at night.
My most vivid memory of Abby’s second night with us and her first night in my room was how close she huddled to me that night. She almost smothered me because she was pressed so hard against my face. It was a bonding moment that would characterize the close relationship we would have with each other.
Abby was a very good girl that night. She slept all the way through and didn’t use the bathroom. However, no sooner had I put her on the floor after we woke-up, did she squat down to pee. I immediately snapped her up and carried her outside for her to do her business. Fully housetraining her was going to take a lot of work, and that story will be left for another entry.
Abby was here to stay.
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