Katie, my watch dog??

We have the best dog one could ever ask for. She is a white boxer, and her name is Katie. She turned 9 this past January. Like the rest of us, she doesn't come without some medical issues. She is battling Congestive Heart Failure, Arthritis in her hips, and well, she is just getting old and tired. But, she is all heart.

When we got Katie, she wasn't in the best of health. White Boxers aren't usually kept alive. I am not sure how the process goes now, but at that time, white boxers were not able to be shown, so they were tossed aside at birth..discarded some way, and breeders never told anyone that the white gene was in the pool. So when we got Katie, she wasn't in the best of shape, not like the other liter mates. But, we brought her home and figured if we didn't keep her, we would find her a good home.

Katie proved to be a great puppy. I started getting sick at this time, so she basically grew up in bed with me. I wasn't able to get down on the floor and play with her, so she got in the water bed and played with me. (yes, we had a water bed) Because she was malnourished, she grew as tired just as quickly as I did, so we napped frequently through out the day. When I woke up to use the restroom, so did she. T-A-D-A!!! Housebroke!!! This was much easier that when I put the puppy training pads INSIDE her crate, and taught her how to pee inside her crate. Anyway.. things were going great. She was still so small that I could wrap her in a blanket, and rock her like a baby, which of course she would gladly let me.

Katie didn't chew on anything but her toys. She had finally gotten enough energy to move around the house. I had read that if you purchase toys for every room in the house, and let your dog know these are THEIR toys, they will leave your toys alone. It worked! One time, my son left my book he was reading on the floor and she started licking the corner of it, and then it lead to eating just that corner. I don't believe she was being bad..just wanting the Doritos he had been eating, then licking his fingers to turn the page.

Charles decided that Katie would be kept from company early on, believing that she would then not like strangers and thus become this wonderful guard dog. Hmmm, that was the theory right? So, when we would have ANY company, we would put her in her crate until everyone would leave. Of course, she would be extremely curious and wander all over the house, sniffing every spot they were, and whine. Then we realised, Katie doesn't bark! Oh, she would bark if you would tell her to, which was followed up with a treat..even an ice cube. (she wasn't that picky) But, if she heard a noice or something, she did not bark at it. We always heard white dogs had hearing problems, even being deaf, which would have been fine, but Katie would come if called, offered a cookie, nummie, etc. She just didn't bark. Was this a good thing, or a bad thing??

A year after we got Katie, we had to move. She seemed to adapt to moving quit well. She ended up with a dogie door and a 20 foot run with a roof on it. The room that has her dogie door in it also has a fan, heater for the winter, and a small radio and TV. Her crate is kept back there w/ a large dog pillow w/ extra pillows and blankets. Is she spoiled? I don't think so. I just think she is extremely loved...and she seems to know this, and somewhat expect it at times.

The theory of the keeping her away from company, well that didn't work out so much. Katie is, well, expected to be taken care of in every area of her life, including protection. One night, her and I were home alone. I heard something fall in the room that we call "Katie's room", the one with the dogie door. She immediately turned around and at attention, stared at me. I got up, and we both headed down the hallway, but there was one huge problem. Katie was behind me! I kept telling her.."GO LOOK". She would look up at me, as if to say.."are you crazy?" and back up to be even further behind me. I would take a step, she would take a step. Finally, as I got within a few feet from "Katie's room", I bend down and tried to push her towards the room, saying "get'em". Katie sat down, looked up and me and cocked her head. It was a sad moment for all guard dog's! So, I went to peek into the room, and when I didn't see anything, I turned around to walk back out, and there she was, wagging her stubbly little tail, so proudly.

I am so happy that Katie wasn't picked to be a guard dog. Since I have been sick, she has never left my side. On nights that I am in so much pain, that I have to get up and walk the floor, she is right there with me. Every night that I am soaking in the hot bath tub waiting for the pain to become tolerable enough to go back to bed, she is right by the door,waiting on me. When I am laying on the couch with my heated blanket, and I am tossing and turning, she gets up slowly, and limps over just to lick my hand or face, just to let me know she is there, and then makes it back over to her therapeutic bed in the corner of the room. There have been a few nights when I have gotten up, and she had been too tired or sore to get up to see what what I am doing, so I have gone over and sat with her, just to let her know that I am here for her, just like she has been here for me these last 9 years, and I hope she knows as her time get shorter, I will be here for her.

I do have to give Katie credit though. She hates the mail man, and the UPS man. When they show up, it's the only time she has finally barked, and growled and tries to bite the window as they walk by. She is a well rounded old girl, that Katie of ours!