Awww, how cute! This is my soon-to-be new little buddy "Sonny." Sonny's owner died of terminal cancer and when the family came to the house after she died, he was so shy that he hid and the family wasn't even aware there was a dog in the house. It wasn't until he was in a window barking five days later that he was rescued. I was told by his foster mom because he wasn't taken on walks he's going to need leash retraining, but he never has accidents unless there are no puppy pads down. He does have separation anxiety given what he went through, but I work remotely most of the time anyway, so I'm rarely away from home for more than a few hours. He's also much bigger than Petunia (Petunia also has hip dysplasia and can't take long walks) so once we get the leash thing down, I hope he enjoys being outside as much as I do. Foster mom also told me he loves car rides, so I'll travel with him too whenever possible. Sonny is currently being fostered in Bradenton, between Tampa and Sarasota on the Gulf, so I am meeting foster mom a week from tomorrow in Lakeland to pick him up.
I caved on Petunia because when I was moving out, I told the ex wife I would be back in a few days to pick up Leia, another wiener dog (I'm breed loyal to dachshunds) who was really my dog, and the very next fucking day she filed a restraining order on me, most of which was fabricated. I'm sure it was to keep me from coming and getting the dog. Yes, we were civil for a while, but that ended when I told her I wanted Petunia back and she screamed, "GET A CAT!!!" at me. Not that I don't love cats - we always had them around the farm when I was a kid to keep the rodents down, but a cat is not a substitute for a dog. I can't take a cat to the park, and I can't have an espresso at a sidewalk cafe with a cat. Anyway, that outburst brought back some very deep seated bad memories of our marriage. That restraining order cost me several thousand dollars in court ordered therapy and I had to turn my guns (I'm not a gun nut, I got my dad's shotgun after he died and I have my .22 rifle from when I was a kid and did competitive marksmanship) to Orlando PD for the duration of the order. She plays dirty pool and I don't want to get ensnared in her web again. I play trivia at local bars on Wednesday and Thursday with friends from AA/Refuge Recovery and she was there on Thursday and (whether she was aware of it or not) was sabotaging me with someone I was clearly interested in. I don't understand why some women feel the need to do that - sabotaging men they don't even want themselves. Reminds me of one of those stories in the back of The Big Book where some guy said, "If you had my wife, you'd drink too."
Oh, and I almost forgot, the ex asked me if I was taking Petunia (and by extension, paying for) her vet visit today. As if.
It's nice to see you back around here LHL. Take care.