by sesheta
on 7/12/2009 at 7:13 AM
in First Post
Now that I'm single again, I live on the first floor of a house. It's not an apartment, so I don't consider it too small for a dog. Upstairs lives another couple. They have a Jack Russell and another type of terrier.
The first sentence out of my mouth when my landlady answered her phone about this rental was, "Do you take cats?" You see, I have Little Gray, my familiar. She is without a doubt, the Queen of the household. (thought that was my position, but I lost it when I brought her home...)
I realize many people must get rid of their pets when they are forced to re-locate into a rental and that is sad. I, however, am extremely stubborn. Not only does Gray mean the world to me, I could never imagine her feelings being hurt by giving her up. It's me and The Gray forever.
I was lucky. My landlady believed that pets were spiritually good for people and accepted her. (Whew!) Then she told me if I wanted a dog, that was ok too. (eyebrow raised silently) "Really..." I questioned, hesitantly. "Well," she said, "Upstairs is my daughter and her fiancee. They have two little dogs. I wouldn't mind if you found a small dog." I smiled. hehehe....
I have only owned dogs since I was 21 years old. And here is the order of dogs. A Samoyed named Yehnsei, a shepherd mix named Bo, a terrier resembling a pot-bellied pig named Minnie, a chow-chow mix named Chow, a Belgian Malinois named Sabbath, a Bichon Frise named Sir Lancelot, a Bichon Havanese named Baba, a white German Shepherd named Thor and now a Sheprador named Sesheta.
The only one under 10 lbs. was the Frise. Next under 20 lbs. was the Havanese. After that were the mid-sizers. And of course, then the big dogs. Except for Thor, who was the gargantuan. His name says it all. At 7 months, he weighed in at 101 lbs.
So when she said "small", inwardly I cringed. My cat is bigger than small. The Frise dogs were sweet, yes. But I am a Shepherd type of woman. lol Then about two months later, when I announce I am ready to get a dog, she changes her mind.
Tells me the woman before me had a dog. And nearly trashed the place. Not only with the dog, but in general. I tell her, "I'm not that woman. Do you even smell my cat? Tell me where the litter box is?" (Offensive move I think) She answers, "I've never smelled it. You keep a very clean house. I don't know." And she agrees if I can convince her husband to let me have a dog, I'm in.
I then ask him later what did the former tenant do that was so horrible. And it was horrible. This woman should have been reported to the Humane Society. She would tie the dog to the railing outside and leave him there. Go out for two days and leave the dog crated. Things like that. Once I reassured him that I was not that kind of person, he agreed.Although with reluctance.
Even though I've had a dog since I was an adult, now I needed a dog. One, for protection. I live alone, in the boonies. In my town, there are two streets. I kid you not. Two, I am disabled. By the law, disabled. So I knew my rights in obtaining a dog for myself. If need be, I could take this to court. (didn't really want to do that)
I brought Sesheeta home. A few days later, I saw my landlady. She took one look and said, "I thought you were getting a little dog..." I said, "My cat didn't want a little dog. They're no fun. Besides, a little dog can't protect me. I live alone. And a little dog can't help me up if I fall. (I get seizures sometimes)" She rolled her eyes. Mine were twinkling.
I found out later that she had been talking to her daughter and the fiance about my dog. She remarked that "Kerry got a dog!" The two of them had mated their two, and had 6 puppies running around. The fiance looked at her and said, "So? We have 8! She only has 1." And with that she laughed and didn't say anything more.
So I thanked my neighbor upstairs for protecting Sesheta. And besides, The Disability Act allows me to have a Therapy Dog under its guidelines. I've checked the laws out. I'm disabled by the law, my landlady is aware of this, and is aware of the law also. But oh how she tries to take the law into her own hands.
Pets are wonderful companions. Dogs are wonderful for Therapy Companions. My Sesheta is working out just fine.
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