BarkingProse

This ain’t no easy bark for me. That’s why I’ve been silent for so long. Our pack has gone through some big time changes and we’re all still trying to wrap our heads around what happened.

The Troubles started in April when we brought Mama and Shiloh into our pack. They were the sorriest dogs we ever saw and there was no question they needed a place to hang out and get better.

Before we agreed to take them, mom asked us if it was okay to bring the California girls to Asherpark . Me and Jack said sure. Tess said she supposed it was the right thing to do.

We had a brief honeymoon when all five of us got along and then The Troubles started. It began when little Shiloh growled at Tess for getting too close to Mama. Tess went off like a heat seeking missile and pounced on Shiloh. Dad grabbed Tess and gave her a good talking to.

One thing led to another and whenever Tess and Shiloh came face to face Shiloh would growl or show her teeth and the fight was on. Funny thing was Tess never bit Shiloh or used her teeth on her, but the noise was terrible.

Pretty soon we were all walking on eggshells. Tess went through intensive training and learned all sorts of handy things, but she never learned to leave Shiloh alone. Me and mom tried to get Shiloh to stop making faces at Tess, but it didn’t work.

One day Tess and Shiloh got into it right at mom’s feet. When mom tried to separate them she got bit real bad. There was lots of bad language and blood everywhere. Tess went into the time out box while we mopped up the blood and tended to mom’s fingers.

I’ve never seen mom so sad. It didn’t help that her fingers were aching like nobody’s business. She said she couldn’t bear to give up on Mama and Shiloh and she didn’t know what to do for Tess.

For the next few weeks we lived parallel lives. Shiloh and Tess could never be together unless Tess was on a leash. Let me tell you, that was no easy time trying to live a normal life with a psychopath like Tess.

I tried talking to Tess, but she could only hear me through her crazy redhead side. Tess told me she was the alpha female of the pack and she wasn’t going to tolerate some used up little mutt being disrespectful.

I said, “Tess, everyone knows you run the place. Shiloh doesn’t want to be boss dog, she just wants you to give her a little space.”

Tess looked at me with a mixture of pity and disgust.

“You just don’t get it, Ash. I have to be in control. It’s the border collie in me. I will never be happy at Asherpark with Shiloh here.”

I was so sad I hung my head and tears dribbled down my snout. I knew in my heart that Tess was right and either she or Shiloh would have to go.

But how could we send little Shiloh and Mama away after what they had been through? And how could we ever let Tess go when we all love her so much?

Tess ran off to give Shiloh the stink eye through the fence while me and mom sat real still. Big changes were in the wind but we didn’t know which way the wind would blow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know it’s been a month since our last bark and I’m real sorry. It’s not that there wasn’t stuff to bark about. There was too much going on.

The girls got here a month ago. It was the first time we took in two dogs at once. Mama and Shiloh were scared to death and were practically glued to each other. Mom figured they would get more confidence over time and gradually they would want to join our pack.

Things were going pretty well the first week until Tess got too close to Mama and Shiloh growled at her. That was a BIG mistake.

Crazy Tess launched on Shiloh like a heat seeking missile. The noise was awful. The rest of us dogs ran for cover. Good thing dad was standing right next to Tess. He picked her up by her scruff and tossed her in the mud room. Mom checked Shiloh out real good and noticed there wasn’t any spit on her. Tess didn’t even grab her fur. It was just Tess trash talking.

For the next two weeks it was like walking on egg shells. Every time Tess walked by, Shiloh would growl or show her teeth. Guess what Tess did? Yup, she pounced on Shiloh and roughed her up. Still no spit or injuries, just lots of drama. A couple of times I whispered to Shiloh that she shouldn’t growl at Tess. I guess Shiloh didn’t believe me or didn’t care because she kept doing it.

Finally mom said we had to call in the sheriff. Oh man, I knew it was serious when our trainer, Matt, had to come out to fix things. He’s the one who showed mom how to teach us manners. It’s because of Matt that I come when I’m called and Tess can heel off leash.

When Matt arrived I quick got in my place and kept my head down. For once his visit wasn’t about me. Tess and Shiloh were in the hot seat.

Of course Tess acted like she was the perfect dog. She lay down at Matt’s feet and didn’t even look at Shiloh. But I heard mom tell Matt all the details and it didn’t sound so good for Tess.

Matt said first we had to get Shiloh to stop provoking Tess. Then we had to get Tess to behave herself no matter what. Good luck on that piece, I thought to myself.

Matt put the training collar on Tess and took her down to see the hens and alpacas. Tess behaved herself real well, until she decided she was finished with the lesson. A quick reminder from the collar and Tess remembered the lesson wasn’t over till Matt said it was.

Then we were all back in the house waiting for somebody to act up. Pretty soon Tess started strutting and Shiloh raised her lip. “Quit!” mom and Matt yelled. Tess quick lay down and Shiloh put her lip back where it belonged. Poor little Shiloh. She seemed so surprised to learn she couldn’t make faces at the bully.

When Matt left he told mom she had to get a training collar for Tess and work her everyday. He said whenever Shiloh growled or raised her lip she should get a loud scolding with a finger shaking. Matt figured Shiloh was such a fragile little thing a strong verbal correction would fix her bad behavior.

I’d like to say it only took one visit from the sheriff to get everything working again, but it wasn’t quite that easy. Tess had got in the habit of being a bully and she paraded around with that big tail of hers high in the air. Mom was constantly telling her to knock it off.

Gradually Tess began to look forward to her training. She danced with excitement when mom put the collar on her . As Tess began to pay more attention to mom, she paid less attention to Shiloh.

In the meantime it finally dawned on Shiloh that growling at Tess was not a good idea. They still give each other the stink eye, but we haven’t had any fights now for nearly two weeks. Whew!!

Last night me and mom sat out in the yard and listened to the evening birds. She kissed my snout and thanked me for staying so calm while Tess had her outbursts. Mom asked me if I was sorry we brought Mama and Shiloh into our pack.

I thought about that for a long time before I answered. Life would certainly be easier without the new dogs, but how can you not want to help a couple of mutts that were treated so mean?

“I’m not one bit sorry,” I said.

Pretty soon me and mom were talking about the dog souls we’ve lost from Asherpark – Darcy, Codie, and Nellie. Each one was difficult in a different way. Each one brought something special to Asherpark. We still miss each and every one of them.

Mama and Shiloh are the most needy dogs we’ve ever taken in. They’re a long term project, but we’re up for it. There’s plenty of space at Asherpark. We can all get along if we try.

 

Marble and Shiloh arrived a week ago. It seems like they’ve been here forever. We were worried before they came that they wouldn’t get along with Tess, but there’s not been any rumbles. Tess has been minding her manners.

Shiloh knows her name and comes when you call her. We think Marble is deaf. She doesn’t look at you when you say her name or make a loud noise. We figured if she’s deaf we could change her name. We’re gonna call her Mama since she’s always looking after little Shiloh.

Mama and Shiloh. Now they got license plates that have their names and our phone number. It even says ‘reward’ on their tags in case anybody finds them and wants money to bring them back.

They’re goofy dogs. Here they were starved almost to death but they don’t care much about their grub. Mom was worried about them the first few days because they wouldn’t eat hardly anything. Now they politely slurp their home cooked gruel and special dried food that they came with.

Mom offered Mama a turkey neck a couple of days ago, and Mama turned her nose up at it. Can you believe that? I woulda grabbed that neck and run off with it if it was offered to me.

Shiloh is real protective of Mama. If people or dogs get too close to Mama, Shiloh growls real low. We try not to laugh, but it’s kinda funny.

Shiloh likes toys, but she can’t have them around Tess. Shiloh wants to protect her toy and Tess doesn’t want her to have toys, so you can see the rub.

We can work around little problems like that. Shiloh can have her toys when meanie Tess is out with dad.

Jack’s not happy to have extra dogs in the house. He’d rather be the only dog, but he’s so easy going he puts up with it.

Since I’m still mom’s lead dog, it’s fine with me. See bringing Mama and Shiloh into our pack keeps us connected to our spirit dogs.

Jesse, Codie, Darcy and Nellie have crossed the bridge, but they still care about what happens at Asherpark.

Remember Codie arranged to get Nellie off death row and sent her to Asherpark. Well, I think knowing how much we all loved Nellie and how much we miss her is why we went looking for some other worn out mutts who needed a home.

People say we’re doing something special to take in these sorry old mutts. What they don’t understand is how much joy the mutts bring us. Asherpark is a happier place when we’ve got mutts that need special attention. Mom tells me we always get more than we give by caring for these dogs.

Just to make sure you’ve been paying attention, I’m gonna say it one more time. It’s official. Shiloh and Mama are staying at Asherpark!