Ode to Odie

Once upon a time there lived a handsome young man and a nice young lady who haphazardly took a street puppy into their home. He wreaked havoc, destroying everything in his path, biting if you even came close, and barked at every-single-thing. He had the nice young lady in tears and stressed beyond belief everyday. She regretted her decision to bring him home and begged the handsome young man to see things from her perspective. You see, that young man loved his puppy, but he also loved his wife and selflessly sacrificed his happiness for hers. The family decided that the best thing to do would be to re-home the terror of a puppy after working with him for 3 1/2 months. They found a nice woman with two sons and another dog and a big backyard for their pup to play in. They cried the whole way home....

That was in August. One of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make. I was so torn. I knew I was not happy and the stress was making me sick. Tim spent a lot of time trying to train Briggs, but he was still such a terror. I dreaded coming home and having to deal with the dog. That was not good for my physical or mental health. I will forever be grateful that Tim so selflessly put my happiness above his own. I am so lucky.

Ever since then Tim has been dreaming of having a dog one day.....but I always said....one day----when you aren't in school anymore and we have a house with a yard-maybe. I was so turned off from dogs. Briggs really took a toll on me. I was convinced I never wanted a dog again.

A couple months later Tim starting suggesting we go down the road to the Humane Society, just to walk the dogs-not get one! He was so sweet to me that I did go with him, and he even sometimes went on his lunch break from school. (Obsessed.) I would go, but I was relieved to leave each time without a dog in tow.

We went to the HS a couple of times....then that is what Tim wanted to do for his bday.....so we went and we were perousing the adult dog kennels when I saw this sweet little face looking up at me through the window of his room, sitting queitly (while all the dogs in the other kennels were jumping around and barking like crazy). I told Tim that I wanted to walk him. Tosh. So we took him out, and compared to other dogs we had walked, he was so gentle on the leash and when we brought him into the enclosed off-leash area outside he just layed at our feet for a belly rub. He was so affectionate and gentle. I really liked him. I was so surprised with myself! I was even considering taking him home! I needed to get out of there-and fast.

So of course Tim was trying to plant a seed of the possiblity of taking this pup home in my heart, but I wasn't having any of it. Although, I will admit, I did think about him a lot after our first visit. We went back later that week to see him, but I couldn't pull the trigger. I was so torn---I wanted Tim to be happy, but I was so afraid I'd be in that dark place again....but something felt different about Tosh...

Then we went back a third time to see him....BUT there was an "I'm being adopted card on his picture at his kennel. We were so sad. I was surprised to see how disappointed I was. We moped all the way home, and I took it as a sign that it wasn't meant to be. Tosh was taken off the HS website, and that was that.....

Then......Tim was perusing the HS website the following week and Tosh was back! We were shocked. We had to go investigate, and when we got there he was indeed back! We diliberated for a little while...like at least an hour, talking this through. We had been praying to know whether bringing this dog home would be a good decision for our family as a whole, and when we were really considering adopting him I felt peace. Even excitement....

So we did it! We adopted Tosh! (We were told as we were signing the adoption papers that apparently he was in fact adopted the previous week, but the owner returned him because he was destructive. In the notes it said the owner locked him in his room all day while he was gone, and did not crate him or let him out. I would be destructive too! Somehow I still felt good about our decision even after hearing that.) I had no worries as we signed the papers. It really felt right. Tim was so happy :) I was too!

Tosh became Odie, and Odie has become Odiemiester, Odie-licious, Odie pup, Odes, and so on.

He is the best dog. Exactly what I always hoped for. He just wants to snuggle and be loved. He sleeps in his bed at our feet most of the day and never barks. We go to the park often and go on lots and lots of walks around our neighborhood. Our neighbors kids love him and he lets them pull his ears and mouth and he doesn't even flinch. He is so gentle and sweet. Although....he will lick your ramen bowl clean if you leave it unattened, even on the table. Tricky little fella.

We love him so much.

Most nights look like this....he loves a good belly rub.

Or this....he loves to snuggle. 

And to hold your hand....

^^This face kills me...........

He loves Tim so much. If I get home before him, Odie will dutifully wait by the garage door, sometimes crying. And when he hears the garage door open he goes crazy with excitement!

He just wants to be near us all the time.

Family picture!

And here is an example of how excited he gets when we come home :)