Doing so out of loneliness, fear, replacing one being who has left your life or passed on might or might not work for you.
Saying you will know is very presumptive. My readers are a very diverse audience.
Personally, I let myself do most of the grieving before opening my heart & home again.
In the recent couple of years, I began to feel healed enough that bringing someone new into my heart & home felt right.
Ready?
Let's do this thing.
Trying to adopt a pet was so fraught with pitfalls. Pitfalls such as the pet going to someone else or the puppy's mother passing on before her puppies were born. Very sad.
Filling out adoption forms at the animal shelter then waiting to be called, that I could go in, choose an animal to adopt. The call never came. I filled that same form out four times in three years.
Same animal shelter. Having found animals wandering around who looked skinny sometimes, a bit lost. I took them away from where they would starve or get killed by passing cars & trucks.
The same local animal shelter stated that I could not adopt because of too many "animal surrenders". No good deed goes unpunished.
Same animal shelter, more problems than a math book in their workers.
Have you ever heard the phrase, "Let go, let God."
That is what I decided to do. Reflecting on that time, I think that maybe I was trying too hard. Getting my hopes up then having them obliterated when it fell through was rough.
People will oft times feel someone or a pet near them in a presence that was comforting or telling them something. Only once, someone asked me what I dream about. The asker was a guy I had seen or talked to at the gym several times. It was a slow Saturday, I was hitting the free weights, weight resist & cardio so hard, I was drenched in sweat. Apparently, some guys like that.
The guy had been watching me. In a healthy, respectful way. When I work out to that level, I shower at the gym & put clean clothing on. My sensitive nose could smell the odor of sweat that was only starting to develop in my car. Ew.
Keep the car smelling sweet, save on the water bill, shower at the gym!
The guy asked me if I wanted to go just across the street for a late lunch. I was cool with that. Usually, I will only accept a date with 24 hours' notice.
I was hungry, bordering on hangry.
He was pleasant, a good conversationalist. Kool.
Then, the fated question.
"What do you dream about, when you dream?"
Oh goody.
As far as I knew, this was a literal question. It seems that he was being polite, hedging with his query. So, I told him.
"Lots of things, mostly I dream about Sammy. He was always with me, very smart, protective, I loved him, he loved me."
The guy got a slightly puzzled expression.
Then, I told him Sammy was my Doberman. A one in a million dog, a gentle giant that I still miss so much, I dream about him. The dreams often consist of walking in the door to the home where I lived at the time, asking if Sammy had been fed. If Sammy was elsewhere instead of greeting me at the door, I called out to him. He would bound toward me, whimpering a little, soft barks, wagging his nub-tail, looking into my eyes, letting me pet him, stroke his handsome face.
Yeah.
The guy may have wanted to hear about dreams of sexual fantasy, mild criminal behavior, edgy, maybe even a bit of kink. He seemed to be put off at what I told him. Oh, well.
It did cross my mind that Sammy might have been reaching for me from beyond the rainbow bridge, through my dreams. Possibly he was comforting me, maybe he was missing me, too.
I can dream. Ha ha.
I had filled out forms online with a couple of registered breeders, 2 Doberman rescue organizations. Crickets-Crickets.
Finally, I decided to let go, let God. Then, it happened!
February 4th, 2024.
Remembering that day I was contacted by a registered breeder of Dobermans. It was a turning point for me. I missed the call on my phone as I usually only monitor my phone on Sundays. Anyone who knows me, knows that if they call me on a Sunday, it's most likely, I'll answer. Sometimes, I see or hear a call on other days.
Once in a blue moon, it does happen.
When I checked the web site of the breeder I had most recently filled out a form with, yep. It was them! My heart was pounding so hard as I touched the "call back" option.
After a pleasant conversation with the gentleman who answered, I let myself hope, again. I Paypal'ed my deposit to the breeder. I had gotten to this stage before. It would have been impossible for me to keep from getting excited. It was heightened excitement!
I began mentally tossing names around in my head. Saying a selected name, writing it on paper, doing numerology calculations for the name. My baby was born December 17, 2023, I looked up his natal chart just for funzies. The dog's health & temperament is by far, the most important aspect. All of my Dobies have had cropped ears & docked tails. Most breeders will dock the tail & have a trusted Veterinarian crop the ears as well as remove the dew claws. Most pro breeders will dock the tails soon after birth.
Dobie butts are so cute.
If you have ever been walloped by a Dobies monster of a tail that is mostly bone & muscle, you might see the reason for this. It can leave welts, bruises, sometimes can even break through a person's skin. Dobies are very expressive, when they are vigorously wagging their tail, it can seriously hurt, break objects.
Having a tail so long it can also be injured such as someone stepping on it, getting their tail caught in a door. It can more easily be injured.
Ouchies.
I find it amusing that people who think nothing of having their human boy babies circumcised, will criticize altering a dog for reasons that are just as valid.
Dobermans are mostly loaded with personality along with quirks that are specific to the breed.
Being a high energy person, the high energy of a Dobie as a pet/companion works for me.
Last week, I took a short ride to Tractor Supply. I looked at dog toys. Dobies need mental stimulation as much as they need exercise & attention. They need toys of different materials, firmness, noises, colors. They need to chew, play, get mentally stimulated. Something all of my Dobies did was to share their toys with me.
See toy - chomp down on toy - bring toy to me & chew while it's in my lap or touching me.
Sharing, lol.
It didn't matter if I chewed the toy with them (I didn't). It didn't matter if I touched it with my hands or not. It was just a gesture of love, trust, play, connection from my dog. All 4 Dobies I had, did this. Such an endearing trait.
Some Dobie owners like this, some are irritated by it.
Loving all Dobie traits is how I roll.
Selecting 4 different dog toys to start off, then, I took a look at all the different varieties in leashes, collars, training tools. Having used a clicker to train dogs in the past, I still had a clicker that I had used to train over 100 dogs.
This was a new dog, getting a new clicker just for him felt right. It works because it's very accessible, quick & easy to operate. The clicker noise also lets the dog know instantly what the correct & expected behavior is so they can know what to do as well as what to avoid doing if it displeases the trainer.
Every dogs' personality is unique. I'll watch his personality unfold.
New beginning, new unique dog.
The excitement went to a new level as I looked at leashes, tag collars, training collars. There were so many choices in colors, materials, lengths, weights.
Two dog control/training items I avoid are a shock collar & a retractable leash. 'Nuff said.
It's from personal experience, personal preference, what is best for me, what I feel is best for my dog. Dobermans are very smart, very easily trained, usually. They can be a bit stubborn sometimes, they push boundaries more than most breeds. As a puppy, my Dobies would test me to see what they can get away with. Just as a 3 - 5-year-old human child often does.
Dobies are also known for being very affectionate, easily trained, they can be the K9 version of divas or drama queens/kings.
If a dobie becomes bored or lonely or wants something they are not being given, they know how to pitch a fit! Drama - Drama. After all, you're the human, the light maker, the food bringer, the treat holder, you must figure it out or listen to them in full on tantrum.
One thing I feel for certain is that they are the best breed for me.
Soon I will make the 5 hour road trip to get my puppy, bring him home, start to enjoy him, love him, train him. I have 2 weeks away from work for him to adjust to me, for me to adjust to him. Getting to know each other is such a fun time. Yes, he will probably cry, whine, miss the warmth of security of his mother, his brothers & sisters.
It's a short time compared to the life & love of a great dog.
The return investment is so worth it.
Dobermans I have had before, the first was actually my mother's dog who liked me as his person. I had three Dobies in my adult life. One was just 10 weeks of age when he passed on. Heart breaking.
My new puppy will be my fourth Dobie, possibly my last. idk.
,
All I know is that I will give this puppy all of the training, love, loving firm discipline & chin scritches (Dobie butts & Dobie chins are the cutest!). Because my puppy is a male, I will rub his chest, just, not his belly.
Even accidentally touching his oscar meyer lipstick is icky.
I will love him. Appreciate him even more as I know it goes by too fast. Soon he will be too big for me to carry or fit his full body onto my lap. I took very few photos of my other dobies, I'm going to take lots of photos of my new puppy.
My boy.
He's my good boy.
PJ.
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