NIKKI’S JOURNEY – CHAPTER 5

NIKKI’S JOURNEY – CHAPTER 5CHAPTER 5: WELCOME, BUTCHJoe had come home after visiting his ailing aunt at the hospice and reported that she was deteriorating more than they expected. Joe had never really known her that well. She and her husband who passed away 5 year ago never had k**s and never were involved much with the family. But since his parents died, Joe stepped in to help her with whatever he could which wasn’t that much until her health turned. She had nobody else. He was really doing it for his mother. But over the past couple years it had taken more of Joe’s time in short increments. So, when Saturday morning came it was a good diversion for Joe.They were off early to the first breeder Joe had investigated. Upon arrival and introducing themselves, the breeder, Bob, had the 2 dogs brought out for them to look at. Nikki’s immediate reaction to the first was that he was much too big. It was the Great Dane. Although she was interested in a large dog, she was worried about her ability to control and manage an a****l that large. The breeder indicated for the next dog to be brought out, “This is Butch. He is still large, in fact quite large for his breed, but he’s extremely loveable. Very active and will want lots of the exercise but your husband indicated that is a trait you want.”“Is he a Lab?”“Yes. But, like I said, he happens to be very large for the breed. In fact that was one of the things that interested me about him and motivated me to keep him longer. But for breeding purposes, his size isn’t a good thing if people are looking for good breed representation. But the other attributes of the breed are still there. He is very loveable, easy to train, and very adaptive. He could easily adapt to being an indoor or outdoor dog depending on your facilities.”She was down on her knees bahis siteleri petting the dog. Looking at Joe, she said, “I really like him. But what about the other dogs?”Joe replied, “Both would be bigger, like the first dog. We could continue to look, but if you like Butch, he seems to like you.”Butch did indeed seem taken by her and was already licking her face as she petted him. She stood next to the dog next to the breeder. “You say he is already mostly trained. Would it be okay to take him for a short walk around the area to see how we do together?”“Absolutely. We’ll wait here. Take your time. Finding the right dog is a big deal for both of you. As I understand it, she will be the primary? It is good to expect to have a primary although you both should be able to control him.”Joe replied as Nikki walked off with Butch on the leash, “Yes, this is mostly for Nikki. She will have the most time with him and wants the companionship when I am not.”“Once they have bonded, and it looks like that won’t take long, he will be great. Although fairly gentle by nature, he will be protective and would allow anyone or anything threaten her without getting in-between. Do you have k**s or plan on having them? Not that it would be a problem except for his size.”“No, we aren’t able to have k**s. He may also be that substitute if that isn’t too silly.”“Dogs are really more than just dogs. They bond very quickly in the right environment.”With Nikki return, Joe asked, “Well, what do you think?”“I love him. I think he is just what I have imagined he would be like.” Turning to the breeder, “But I have to ask, is he intact? You know …”“Yes, he is. Do you intend to breed him? Seems everyone recommends that pets be fixed.”“No, not breeding, but it just doesn’t seem fair. Maybe I’m being silly, but is there canlı bahis siteleri an option to neutering? A man would have a vasectomy to retain the ability to still enjoy and function but eliminate the potential of reproduction.”“Neutering is common. If would have to check with the vet I use. I could do that now if you really want to know the options.” The vet was tied up at the moment but ended up calling back in minutes. They waited for the discussion to conclude. “Well, that was interesting. I guess you learn something every day. He said vasectomy is a procedure that is sometimes used on sheep but rarely for other species. But he doesn’t see the problem, it’s just been the practice to neuter. He was curious why the interest and when I explained that neuter just seem ‘unfair’ to you by taking away a natural function for the a****l, he was impressed. In fact his words were, ‘those people are interested in more than just a pet. They truly have a deep commitment to the full wellbeing of the a****l.’ Which I have come to conclude as well. I wouldn’t turn Butch over to just anyone, but I know he will thrive with you. He also stated he would have no problem with the procedure, it is fairly straightforward. He also thought it could be promoted as a viable option for other concerned owners. So, if you do want him, I can arrange the surgery and you can pick him up in a week or so. Turned out to be 2 weeks for the surgery to heal and to insure that the surgery was successful.Three things happened while they waited for Butch to come home. The first thing was that Joe’s aunt continued to decline and that started taking up more of their time. The doctors and nurses indicated that there was little they could do for her anymore except to keep her comfortable. They also indicated that they canlı bahis were surprise that there wasn’t a strong relationship because when they were with her, she was calmer and rested quieter. That of course meant they agreed between them to dedicate more time to visiting her at the hospice. Joe took some time off and his company was great about it completely understanding the unusual situation. Nikki tried taking some time and her company fought her saying it didn’t fit their policies. Totally pissed, she just took vacation.The second thing was that Joe came home one night insisting they go out and celebrate. Joe had just been promoted to a new position over the region and responsible for the very activity he loved doing and was the most comfortable with. His salary was increasing by about 50% and being regional his traveling would be less. It made them secure and was the perfect job he could have specified for himself.The third thing was Joe’s suggestion that they take the transition with Butch very slowly and erring on the side to very, very slowly. His concern was that this was going to be a very big change for him at 1.5 years. He was going to transition from a life among many other dogs in a kennel environment to living inside with only 2 humans.That made perfect sense to Nikki. She was nervous on how to proceed, anyway. Taking a month or two to get him settled in the his new environment, get him to trust them, feel a part of the surrounds, and find his place in the family structure would make the next moves that much easier and natural.A week after Butch came, Joe aunt died. Then the chaos started. At first the hospice didn’t know what to do so they called Joe and Nikki. Joe was unavailable so Nikki went down. After a lot of confusion someone finally noticed some instruction in the file directing them to a person turning out to be her attorney. Then everything changed for Joe and Nikki, and would make life much different for Butch.* * * CHAPTER 6: HOME ON THE RANGE will follow * * * Thanks for reading.