Hey, Bunny! This blog is for you

OK, so here’s what happened.

Bunny read the blog.

I have no other explanation for the sudden change in her demeanor from Monday. Or mine, for that matter.

I posted a heartfelt Facebook message on Monday that the Bunny arrangement wasn’t working so well. I liked the dog but she didn’t seem to care for me. She’s a beagle and wants to run and all I have is a leash. Dogs need routine, and I have none.

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I thought long before posting that. I prayed on it. Weighed it all in my mind. Sought advice from a few friends. I say that so you know Monday’s post wasn’t a reaction to Bunny diving into the garbage can and leaving a sleeve of broken crackers on the floor.

No. I really meant it. I would foster Bunny until we could find her suitable home.

It was that afternoon when I noticed Bunny, I don’t know, different. Sweet and affectionate, but not pushy. In her crate easily when I asked. Our walk on the state trail that day felt pleasant.

It's like she read the blog and thought, “Hey, I may be a little annoying, but that doesn’t mean I want to leave. I love it here!” 

Bunny followed me around the house, plopping down on the floor wherever I sat. It was working. I found myself wondering whether I had this all mixed up.

See, I had convinced myself Bunny needed a new home because of subjective criteria. She needs a place to run. She needs more companionship. She needs this. She needs that.

As the sole-source writer of a daily blog along with other duties, those thoughts exhausted me. I was sure that those other voices were right and that my best move was to separate myself from the dog as quickly as possible, and then return to my animal-less life.

But then during a walk, Bunny did the look. Dog owners know what I’m talking about. Dog on the leash looking back to make sure you’re still there.

And I started thinking how I really don’t know this dog’s history. Shelter workers pegged her age at 2-4 years, and she was picked up as a stray before her short stint at the shelter. I sorta guessed she was a one-home dog, that something happened to her previous owners and that’s how she ended up on the street.

That’s an assumption based on nothing. She could have had numerous starts and stops, many times when she felt secure only to be shipped elsewhere. In her doggy mind, she may have looked at me and thought, “Finally, my home!’

Then she reads in a blog post it’s not working.

Well, nuts to that. Tuesday morning, during our early dawn walk, I realized how close I had come to making a terrible error. After our walk, we had a little chat.

I’m told dogs love routine. Walk at the same time, fed at the same time, that sort of thing. Well, my routine is I get out of bed in the morning, and I go to sleep at night, and unscripted life happens between those two events.

My message to Bunny: There will be days we walk three or four times. Also, days when two necessary walks are all my schedule allows. Days when she’s in the crate for a few hours in the morning and that’s it. Or days when it’s three hours crate, one hour free, and then back in the crate. Days when breakfast is at 8, days when breakfast is brunch.

In other words…we’re going to figure it out.

I’ll check out Bark Central as several folks suggested. And I have an overnight trip in March, so I need to figure that out as well. Since JWC readers are the smartest people I know, I may be seeking occasional advice.

As for Bunny, her search for a loving home will end at Just Wright Citrus World Headquarters on the shores of Big Lake Henderson. As it should be.

Have an awesome weekend with your best friend.

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