Pets. Talk about “The one”

[Dob Hooligan]

@Plutonic Panda shared the grief of losing a beloved dog last week. And that got me thinking about which pet touched our soul more than the others. I’m old enough to have had many dogs, but I gotta admit that one was the favorite,

Starsky was a dog that arrived in the shop with Hutch, and my wife said “don’t let them get away”. Just a couple strays, yet over time I understood the special love he had for me. I looked in his eyes and they always told me the story.

“Someday we will be alone. And we will ride together into the sun. The top will be down. The weather will be perfect. It will just be you and I…leaving all the challenges of the world behind.”

[Plutonic Panda]

After nothing short of a miracle, She has clung to life and is slowly getting better. It’s only a matter of time now, but we will have her for a few more months and we’re waiting for blood count to get back up so we can do surgery. We took her to the vet today and he insured us that she is not in pain. She is doing much better than she was and is eating very good. I’m not very religious, but I’m in a very bad spot financially and was not able to come up to Oklahoma for this and I’m thankful it didn’t happen. In fact, I had to cancel a trip that I had purchased for October because of some things that have came up. I’m hoping she makes it until at least Halloween-thanksgiving so I can see her.

For me, she is the one. I picked her up from a puppy mill in Orlando, Oklahoma in November 2011. Whenever you go get a dog, Be it from a professional breeder, An animal shelter, Or a puppy mill, There’s just something that I’ve experienced where a magical bond happens and you know that that is the one. That’s how it was with me and Amber. Up until the time I moved to LA In 2015, She slept in my bed every night, She would always be out in the yard with me when I would do the plants, We would go swimming in Lake Arcadia, I took her to dog parks across the city, We did a lot together.

I’ve missed her a lot being out in California. I live in kind of a sh!tty Apartment complex above a subway line In Hollywood surrounded by a bunch of rich people, God knows what they do. A lot of my neighbors pull out of their underground, garages and Lamborghinis and Rolls-RoyceS, One of them has $1 million+ Senna. I don’t know what these people do. I’m one of the few buildings that houses low to moderate income on my street.

If anyone here has ever been to LA or lived here, they know how it is. Virtually zero traffic enforcement. Speed limit is 25 and it’s not uncommon to see Ferrari and dodge hellcats going 100+ down my residential street. I can’t say I’m not innocent of doing this myself. But it’s a very unsafe environment. I looked into doggy daycare’s, It’s almost 1000 a week. I’m fortunate to have a family, Sadeghy’s, In Edmond, where it’s a more family oriented community and she has a big yard to run around in Kickingbird Estates. I can let her walk around the yard and not have to worry about her running in the street and getting hit by a car going 100. I will say it is an uncommon in the subdivision to see people doing 40+ in a 25. Even though I’m a bit of a speed demon myself I’ve actually Encouraged my neighbors to call the Edmond Police Department as they will send traffic control units to monitor speed. I don’t call myself because I do not have a good relationship with the Edmond PD though I do have the utmost respect our women and boys in blue. I was just a young, dumb kid typical rebel without a cause crap.

She has another fellow companion who is a mixed breed of lab and husky. Her name is Bella. She is getting old too and doesn’t have much time left either. They both have a nice big yard and each other and a loving grandmother who takes care of them every single day and feeds them real good food not cheap processed crap but I can’t believe is even legal to be sold for consumption.

Again not to be repetitive but my apartment just is not good for dogs and I’m working most of the day. I’m used to training dogs in a suburban environment with a yard. The next dog I get I will have to get a dog trainer to help me train a dog in an apartment because for the time being I am nowhere near being fluent enough to purchase a single-family home in LA. I can’t wait to move back to the suburbs again. if I ever do, for whatever reason as much as I hate Hollywood something about it is addictive and there’s a place in my heart for it so I may never leave here. Any single-family home near here is outrageously expensive.

But all those factors come in to play when I think about why I don’t bring her out here and part of me wishes I would have but at this point she’s just too old. My grandmother has grown very attached to her as well. I’m not sure who is sadder me or her. But again, I’m not the religious type I do believe in a higher power, but it was nothing short of a miracle that she survived this and is doing good. Her surgery is scheduled for this upcoming week.

I have to say I’m just not sure I will ever become as attached to another “pet” As I have with my baby Amber.

And Mr. Dob, Thank you for your kind words and creating this thread. It is important that we include all pets not just dogs. As Pete mentioned a cat can be great to as well as many other of our beloved pets. I thought about getting a cat, but I’m not sure and sometimes I’m afraid of doing new things. Along time ago when I was little, we had a Persian cat named Mushi. That was when we lived in Sorghum Mill Estates.

I’ve had several dogs growing up over the years. My parents are divorced with my dad currently currently married and my mother in a domesticated partnership. Besides Amber being my favorite, And I have the strange filling of guilt, even saying that for some reason, I love my chocolate lab Abby, Golden Retrievers Max and Bob. my dad currently has a wonderful German Shepherd who they are about to breed and I’m considering getting a puppy from.

But may Starsky be with you and one day you’ll be reunited. I love your outlook and spirit. I was really depressed today and that made my day. God bless!

[Plutonic Panda]

Oh and if anyone has a Netflix subscription check out The Hidden Lives of Pets. It’s a pretty good show. I think there’s only one season. If you don’t have a Netflix subscription, I think I have a link saved somewhere. I’ll see if I can find where it’s pirated and I’ll send it to you.

[oklip955]

i admit that I am still grieving over the loss of one of my horses about 10 yrs ago. Yes he was special and a bit different then the others I have had. I lost him to old age at the age of 34yrs old.

[Bill Robertson]

One dog. Shortly after I got a house after leaving wife#1 my then girlfriend came over one day with a standard poodle puppy. She thought "poodle" having no idea that a standard is a big dog. "Sable" was an amazing dog. Extremely smart and sweet. She took up more than her share of the bed and that was fine. She was a lap dog. A big lap dog. That was fine too. I carried her outside to go to the bathroom the last couple months she was alive. I bawled for days when I had her put down.
And one cat. After years of not liking cats and never having one. Wife #2 played softball. One night while watching a game at River Park this little orange, flea covered, ringworm infested kitten climbed up on my lap and went to sleep. I had a cat. If I was in the house he was never more than a few feet from me. When I got from work each day he came flying down the hall, climbed up my front and wrapped his front legs around my neck. He was special.
The cat we've had just a little while now will be on the list too. He's very smart. Very loving. And EXTREMELY entertaining. He comes up with games he wants us to play that no cat either of us has ever had thought of.
All of my/our pets of the past 35 years are buried just outside our bedroom. We will be cremated and be put with them.