Oscar, My Oscar

Oscar came to us 7 years ago on May 19, 2011.

I had been looking for another dog after we bought the Velma house and so I was hitting the local shelter sites regularly.

During the same time period I could have gotten my hands on a puppy from the Sonoma County Humane Society, but I kept coming back to this sweet boy's picture at the Healdsburg Animal Shelter web site.

I knew there wouldn't be a problem with the puppies getting a home, but he was an older dog at 6 years of age so I went and saw him on the 18th. 

I liked what I saw and took Cliff the Mutt back with me the next day and they didn't have problems so I could bring him home.

I admit that I ran roughshod over Slugbo to get this dog.  He didn't get to meet him till I brought him home.  And that was probably a really bad idea.  Everything on the form the people that relinquished him filled out made him spectacularly unsuited for our home.

I didn't care.  I wanted him and I brought him home. 

He was very terrified of men.  Ran from Slugbo all the time.  Hid when he could, tried to melt into the floor when he couldn't.  Stuck to me like glue.

Slugbo started attaching Oscar to him with a leash when they were both in the house.  He started being the one to feed him.  Nothing was working.  He wouldn't turn that corner and realize he was safe with both of us.

We were getting ready to take him back since this was hard on Slugbo too.  He loves animals as much as I do, and having Oscar fear him so much without cause from him, really really hurt.  Then I went out of town for a long weekend and Oscar HAD to deal with Slugbo for everything.

That trip was the best thing that could have happened and Oscar started coming out of his shell.  He slowly stopped hiding from the multitude of people that would be in and out of our house and office on a regular basis. 

He still warms up to women first, but he's happy to see most people now and will say hi if he hasn't met you before.

Since Scrat Monster joined up Oscar came out of his shell further.  He would play.  He would wrestle.  He would chase and he even started fetching.  He didn't know how to play without teeth, so we had to be careful, but he was playing and that was all that mattered.

We lost Oscar last Monday, June 13, 2011, rather unexpectedly.

I was home sick.  He was with me.  He came in and hopped up on my bed and threw up (thank you doggy boy).  I put him outside and he got some water and went and laid in the sun while I cleaned up the mess.

I went back out 20 minutes or so later and didn't see him.  Ended up finding him behind the house in the sun unresponsive.  I called Slugbo in a panic.  He agreed to meet me at PetCare.  I grabbed Oscar's favorite quilt and wrapped him in it and ran to the car.  Cliff was completely freaking out when he saw me carrying Oscar in. :-(

Slugbo had the nurse at PetCare in the parking lot waiting for me and they had him out of the car before I'd finished parking.  They took him back and we waited and I tried to tell Slubgo what happened.

The vet came in and told us they were trying.  Oxygen, meds, everything they could.  It didn't work.  They think that because he had a heart murmur that was steadily getting worse, that when he threw up he also threw a blood clot and he stroked out.

It kills me that he was alone when it happened.  They say I could not have prevented it, but I could have been with him.  I don't know if he was in pain, or if he cried at all.  I just know he alone, but he was in the sun, his next favorite place to be.

Slugbo and I miss him dearly.  He's buried under the oak trees in the side yard so he will always have the sun on him.  He's wrapped in his favorite quilt, the one he liked to chew holes in.  He's encase in stone tile as well and he has a tag so if for some reason he's ever found again, the ones that find him will know he was loved and will hopefully leave him be.

I love you Oscar.  I'm glad we got those 7 years.  I think we made you happy and I hope you died less afraid and more trusting of people thanks to Slugbo, I and our friends that miss you too.

The Center of the Universe

at least his anyway.

Meet Oscar the Dog.

Oscar came to us a broken, overweight, very scared dog. I chose the one dog that couldn't be more unsuited to our house:

• Terrified of everything
• Scared of men
• Gets car sick
• Runs from loud noises

This into a family that

• Has a male (hi honey)
• Goes on road trips regularly (do NOT feed the dogs before a car trip)
• has Jet skis, quads and motorcycles

He was terrified of men. Ken couldn't walk into a room without Oscar hitting the floor to try to become invisible.

Oscar didn't eat the first three days we had him because he was used to table scraps (poor guy didn't know what he was getting into when he hopped in the truck for the ride home that day). He stuck to me like glue from day one. If I left a room, he went with me. If I was in the kitchen and told him 'Out' he would go lay down then come back in about 5 minutes and check to make sure I was still there.

The first three months were hard on Ken, because it sure seemed Oscar wouldn't even give him a chance. I admit it, we almost took him back. Ken's not a bad person and loves animals and it's hard to have an animal in the house so obviously terrified of you. But then I had to go out of town for a long weekend and Oscar finally realized that Ken wasn't going to eat him. At least not that day.

Four years later, he does much better with Ken now, in fact better than when I'm home.

When I am home, he would still rather be by my side. If Ken ever needs to find me in the house, he simply needs to following the whining and he'll find Oscar parked outside of whichever room I'm in. He will lay next to me and lick the air. Yes the air. Oh and he eats holes in my quilts. Not Ken's, mine. ::sigh::

Oscar plays now. He loves to just lay outside and if he's the only dog outside he'll stay in the yard. He's down about 7 pounds and gets regular haircuts (mostly) and just looks so much better. He doesn't run away from guests, male or female. He's just a much happier, healthier dog.

Some days he is still convinced he is going to get eaten. If I send Cliff or Scrat to 'Bed' for doing something wrong, Oscar still beats them to the room, simply because I used 'that' tone. But he knows he is loved and that we won't hurt him.

He is 10 years old today (our best guess).

He is my responsibility, my shadow, my satellite.

I am his guardian, his light, his universe.

You've come a long way Oscar baby. I'm glad I didn't choose the puppy. Even when you're sitting outside the bathroom door whining to be let in. ::wink::

And if I ever get my hands on the person that hurt you, I'll do to them, what they did to you.

I won, I won, I won

Okay I actually won almost a month ago, but as you've seen I've been busy.

Ms Erin had a Photo Scavenger Hunt last month and I opted to take part.

I was one of the lucky winners:

That would be Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock yarn in Crazy Stripes Dye Lot 9966

Along with a cheat sheet for sock sizing (women's on the front, men and munchkins on the back)

A copy of Erin's Feather Pluckin' pattern and a cute little notepad.

I hope she enjoyed turning 30 as much as I did.

I also have to show you the following.

Last night I was straightening up the kitchen a little bit and I found a couple of things I needed to put away. Well they had to be opened first.

Oscar the Dog - a.k.a. the Mom Satellite (I am his moon and sun after all) got really excited while I was opening it (them) since plastic was involved.

So I held it and let him sniff it thinking he wouldn't grab it. Boy was I wrong.

He snagged it right out of my hand and headed straight to the living room with it and played keep away. Granted I wasn't trying too hard to get it from him. It was just nice to see him playing for a change.

Now you might be wondering just what the heck it is that I opened.

That would be the square one I opened first. I let him snag the round one as well since he had so much fun with them.

They are now fully expanded and drying in the laundry room for future use as rags. Or perhaps Tug of War toys.