Going to the Dogs! Tippy.

When our beloved Ivy died, it left a hole that I had to fill. I never expected to find another Ivy; she was perfect! ( minus the shedding and weak stomach)

We went to RAL or Richmond Animal League. We looked at the cages, saw all the sweet and not-so-sweet dogs, and couldn’t decide. I just knew I didn’t want a puppy.

A woman working there told us to take a chance on Tippy. She had been in the kennel for a long time, and people passed her over because she acted crazy in the crate. We went into a little private room, and she brought Tippy to meet us. She was a black dog with white paws—thus, the name.

She was friendly and playful, so we agreed to take her. The only thing we were warned about was that she hated cats. Well, that was Okay. We don’t like cats either. We took her home, and our adventures with Tippy began, Yes, she was fine with us, but she reacted badly to almost everyone else, especially men. If another couple, for example, came to visit, we would have to have them sit on the couch and then let the dog out. She was Ok as long as they stayed on the couch. She would often growl at the men.

Once, I had someone come to fix a kitchen cabinet. He sat at the kitchen table until Tippy gave him the once over. When all seemed well, he got up and walked two feet to the cabinet, turned around, and Tippy almost bit his ass.

A home was being built next to ours, but it was down from the hill and to the side of our house. We had not yet put a fence up, and I had to hold on to her when I would take her outside. One day, I went through the garage to take her in the back through the people's door. My left hand held the leash, which I had wrapped around my fingers, and I opened the door with my right hand. Tippy saw the men and took off. I couldn’t let go of the leash, and the fourth finger on my left hand snapped. When I screamed, the dog ran into the woods behind the house.

I was in so much pain! My husband was on the golf course, and I had no idea how to contact him. I was screaming at the people building the house, “Ayuda me, Ayuda me,” but to no avail. I couldn’t see the dog, I called her name, but she had taken off. I wasn’t thinking and called my daughter, who was home on bed rest from her pregnancy. All I did was alarm her, and I knew she couldn’t help. I called a friend who lived close by. I was out of it. She arrived at my house within minutes, armed with dog biscuits and a leash. Instead, she took me to the ER. My wedding band had to be sawed off as my finger was twice its normal size. Somehow, my husband arrived home, and the dog approached him in the backyard, wagging his tail.

My finger was badly broken. I had a cast. Weeks later, when the doctor removed the cast, my finger was half the size of the others. Apparently, the bone had telescoped into the hand. Surgery followed, plus another cast. It was not delightful.

Tippy had no idea what she had done. But the worst was yet to come. When all was finally back to normal, on a warm day, we opened the windows to let in a breeze. There were screens on the windows. I was sitting in a loft I used as an office upstairs, and my husband was in his studio working on music. All of a sudden, I heard a PING sound. It came from one of the upstairs bedrooms. I went to see it, but the screen was missing. I looked out and down and saw Tippy in a clump on the back lawn. I screamed, and we both went running out to the dog. Our next-door neighbor had seen the whole thing. Apparently, a cat came into the yard. Tippy saw it and jumped out the window to catch it. The cat got away. Tippy was barely moving.

The two men created a gurney for the dog, and we went to the Emergency Vet. After an exam and x-rays, there was nothing wrong with her. She had knocked the wind out of her, bit her lip, and that was about it. She recovered within hours. We kept all the windows closed and just ran the air conditioner. In the long run, she had injured a front paw that developed into an arthritic condition. Although nothing was “obvious,” she started having problems and was unable to breathe easily. The poor dog died many years after that incident, but she shortened her life by flying out the window.

Tippy had a particular soft spot for our Granddaughter. I was never nervous around Tippy; she truly loved her. My Granddaughter would use Tippy as a pillow when she lay on the floor to watch TV.

About six months after Tippy died, a cleaning company came to do a thorough cleaning. The woman who went upstairs to clean came back down and told me a beautiful black dog was sitting on the bed. She was surprised I didn’t tell her there was a dog!

I looked at her as if she was crazy. I went upstairs and of course there was no dog there. She swore there was. I don’t know, just something you can’t explain.