Brindy the runaway min-pit

Brindy the mini pitbull. Brindy the dingbat. Brindy the dumb runaway dog. We adopted Brindy about 6 years ago. She's the result of someone breeding designer dogs via pit bulls crossed with Boston terriers. I personally call the breed 'dingbat' and you have to see both her ears erect to see why. Brindy came with costs. Heavy costs. 700 dollars to put her through heart worm treatment with a 50/50 chance of survival. The treatment gave her premature graying in the face but she lived.

Brindy has a problem. She's a runaway dog. She is in love with the idea of running as hard as she can as far as she can. She doesn't pause to sniff anything until she's at least six blocks away. She's learned that someone will be trying to catch her and she's learned all the tricks to that.

Offering a car ride used to be the cinch. She would jump right in for a car ride. But she learned that meant going straight home. So to hell with that idea. Her newest trick, since she learned we will follow her with the car, is to go to the railroad tracks and avoid us that way. The only thing she hasn't learned is to avoid strangers. She will go right up to other people except that they are afraid of her and won't help us catch her.

This is why her address and my phone number are on her tags. But recently, she managed to force off her address tag from her collar and it was on the table when she decided to run again. Most of the time, she dashes out the front door and she's very good at picking her time. So we kennel her if we having pizza delivered or company over. Today, she got out through the backyard fence.

"But wait, don't you play with your dog or do anything with her?"

Why yes we do. This dog gets to go out and play ball an average of 8 times a day. If you don't take her out when she wants, she will stare lasers through your head until you do. She's a very spoiled and extremely demanding while completely disobedient dog. She's ridiculous with it and never satisfied. My son was throwing ball for her as I pulled up in the driveway from dropping my wife off at work. That's when she decided ball just wasn't enough for her.

Now for the other problem. As you can see by the pictures we have a large gate for part of our fenced in back yard. It's badly warped and I've had to force it to the ground with long metal stakes. I've had to tie it off with wire and strap boards to and bricks to block the end off.

It doesn't work. She can push aside everything I put at the corner and wiggle out and I can't stop her. My son stared dumbfounded as teens sometimes do, instead of running to stop her. I couldn't get out of the car fast enough, and she was gone. It sure looks like she can't be trusted to play her favorite game anymore. By the way, we rent.

Yep, we rent and there is zero chance that this gate will ever be corrected. No one has cared for at least 20 years or so as that tree grew into the side of the house and warped it. I'm just glad that's the shed built into the house that is being destroyed by the two trees growing into it. You can even see the fence post that's been swallowed by the base of the tree. The electric company hates us because they can't bring their trucks into the yard to fix transformers when they blow twice a year. Too bad so sad.

So that's the situation. You might say, 'gee, she's so smart to learn all that'. No. She's stupid.

Stupid to run away and risk her life possible loss of the family that's put hundreds to thousands of dollars into her health and living. Stupid to run off from her favorite ball to do all that. Today we had to chase her to the point of her own physical exhaustion in high southern heat. To me, that's stupid. Not smart.

One day we will be moving on from here. If we still have a dog at that time (if she doesn't get herself killed before then) we will seek a home with a really good fence. Until then, we do our best to contain her, but her ball playing days may be at an end for a while if she really prefers to play escape instead.

Loss of a pet, dealing with loss and autism

I had something else I wanted to touch on today, but I'm switching things up again. Sometimes current events demand attention. You never know what surprise may overtake you.

Cupid the pet rat was very sick and suffering. She wasn't drinking water and barely ate the food I gave her. Despite cage cleanings, she had contracted mites (they are very common and can come from almost anywhere). Despite treatment, they could not be stopped or gotten rid off. I will have to throw her cage out to be sure they're gone because of how hardy these nasty vermin turned out to be. Our other rat doesn't have them, thankfully.

It's never easy to send a pet friend on their way and sadly, I had to do this last night. Now, let me tell you, I have a great deal of experience in this unfortunate skill from working with animals as long as I have. I was a breeder of rats long, long ago and I worked for an Animal Control Agency for six years. In that time, I've had to put down all manner of injured wildlife. I had to put down many a sick rat with cancerous tumors or other ailments that prevented them from thriving. When you cold have 10 litters of rats growing at numbers of 20 per litter (average), it was impossible to avoid.

Anyway, Cupid was very special. She would let you pick her up and take her anywhere. She would let a hyper child with autism hold her. She would ride on our shoulders and nestle into anyone's long hair. She was cute and loveable. She could teach you to enjoy a rat's company. My son was very attached to her. I hated what I had to do. I hated to deliver the news as well. He fell into my lap when I told him she had to go last night. He cried for a good ten minutes as I discussed how I understood his feelings.

I offered to do a burial in the backyard and he accepted readily. Out in the back yard is the remains of an old stump someone tried to burn out. It's center was only dirt and ashes. Looking around the yard, I realized that there would likely be nothing under the stump. It should be safe to dig there. So I did and I managed to get the hole a good foot and half deep before digging into hard clay. We put poor Cupid to rest there and my son said a few words of goodbye. Then we filled it in and talked some more.

Loss is a hard change and change is already hard for autistics. All you can do, is be supportive and understanding. Offer to do things that help bring closure and remind of the good times. Don't go for instant replacement. Time is needed to get full closure or anything close to that. In getting a new pet, you shouldn't be getting a replacement. You should be getting a "new" pet, with an identity and history all it's own. That way, you don't find yourself constantly looking at this new animals as a replacement for Fido or who ever.

We still have a family of pets that need our love and support. We still have a big ol boy rat named Mocha Joe who needs attention. He's not the same, but we still have him and he is who he is. My son will be fine, but it's a tough loss for any child, conditions or not.

Answering wolf hybrid mail

First of all, let me offer you my newest article on the realities of owning a wild animal hybrid HERE.

For those of you who write to me or leave a comment about how great your pet has been for you, I'm glad you have had such a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, I think you miss the point or several points that I have been trying to make. This appears to be a trend.

I'm not saying that hybrids can't be taken anywhere by responsible people.

I'm not saying they are monsters that will freak out and hurt everyone near them.

I'm not calling the whole breed evil and I've said over an over that this is happening because people won't stop being stupid with them.

I am saying that they have wild instincts that owners or potential owners had better pay attention to. They are not for the casual owner, and it seems to me that the enthusiasts who are writing me, want to say they are.

I am saying that they must not be advertised as a service animal for the disabled. Yes, I dealt with only one person who made that suggestion, but it only takes one.

Do you, the enthusiasts who keep emailing me, actually want irresponsible people to own a hybrid? Do you want the bad press that will bring?

Honestly, if you don't like my message I can't imagine what you must think of every time someone gets mauled and that goes in the news. But the fact is that a lot of kids are dead.

You especially need to STOP comparing them to the standard domestic dog. Just stop it. They aren't considered or recognized or have the same needs or issues legally as a standard dog. Yes, canine instincts are intact in them all, but a wolf takes those to the extreme and a non-domestic level. You have to stop sugar coating the reality of what you face as a hybrid owner, see article above.

When you contact me and say "my hybrid is nice to everyone" as an argument against my articles, you already lose. It doesn't matter if it's tame or nice to everyone FOR YOU. You are it's owner, you are it's alpha, your family is it's pack. And none of that, NONE OF IT, changes the views of the law. It doesn't change the bottom line.

And I'm not going to debate my reasoning anymore because any fact I have given (see the email correspondence in prior posting) gets deflected to some out of the way and nearly (if not completely) unrelated suggestion that doesn't hold up in court.

And that's what matters people, what will hold up in a court of law! That's why your hybrids are unlawful in EIGHT FREAKING STATES! Not even the pitbull is banned at state level yet that I've found, but if you know one let me know!