Piper, Skye & Ripple
Good day readers. I hope all is well as we enter the "Holiday Season" here in the USA. Once upon a time the American traditional Thanksgiving was my absolute favorite holiday. I don't really have a favorite anymore. Little known fact outside my social circle; Answerman likes to cook. I hosted Thanksgiving several times until my Mom wanted to take it back when I was in graduate school a few years ago. There is always much to be grateful for in the world. My friends, most of my family....Yes I have one of those families. Some can't agree to disagree, which is why I like dogs. Dogs are rarely disagreeable and always grateful. My all time favorite dog was Piper. A high energy West Highland Terrier (Westie) that we rescued when he was one and had been in an abusive home.
Piper didn't always like me- he had issues with men, because that was who abused him, but we became best buddies. Piper stayed with us for 14 years and with a sharp decline in his health just after Thanksgiving last year he had to be put down at age 15. Piper's health was in decline for most 2020 but then he would rally and show some energy. Since I liked him more than many people I know, the decision to let him go was tough.
I mulled it over for more than a week and selfishly couldn't admit it was his time. I loved the fuzzy little guy. Piper was in discomfort, had poor vision and could get lost in the same yard here that he knew for all of his time. Then he stopped eating. Enough with the end of life details. I am really thankful for all the dog to human friendship he provided.
Piper came to our family as a gift to my younger daughter Kelcie for her 13th birthday, but he was mostly my fuzzy white shadow after some initial run-ins when he still had male trust issues. Life, as we know, has challenges. The name Answerman- given to me from both of my daughters, extended family and friends, all of whom came to me with their problems or questions, long before internet searches were the first approach. There is a certain weight that comes with being the person everyone expects to have the answer to sometimes complex life problems.
I went through some very challenging issues with a divorce, serious problems with both daughters and never seemed to have answers for my own problems- all while everyone thought I could solve theirs. Through it all, Piper was always there with his smiling dog face and wagging tail- just as excited that I had come back into a room as he was when I would get home from a long day. When my now 11 year old granddaughter was born several people said "Piper will have to go, y'know Westies aren't good with babies and little ones." They couldn't have been more wrong. He was the best friend and protector to Bella. He would sleep by the crib, then when she got older he would sleep at the foot of her bed when she napped, jumping up and growling at any noise that might endanger "his" kid.
When Piper was around 12 he started to slow down, he couldn't go down steps anymore. I decided to surprise both he and my granddaughter and adopt a puppy from a rescue that she had met before a Philadelphia Union soccer match. We got Skye when she was exactly nine weeks old, a Jack Russell-Chihuahua-Italian Greyhound mix, she was so small she fit in my hand and weighed 1.5 lbs. the day I picked her up. I played a trick on my granddaughter when she got home from school because Skye was making in a portable crate making squeaking noise, not really barking. I said " I think it's a snake, and I opened the crate door." Bella said "No, don't put your hand in there, Pops!"
Piper liked having a friend, sometimes annoyed with her boundless energy but it renewed his too. In her puppy way she tore open toys and even some furniture. One day Piper was not himself, falling all over the place, throwing up and had a distended belly. Piper had ingested some of the stuffing from a pillow that Skye had torn open. I couldn't part with him, we had been through too much together. The emergency surgery and 4 day hospitalization cost me nearly $4,000. Within three weeks he was himself. Piper was happy, Skye was happy- most of all, I was happy to have them both.
Similar to when my one daughter moved out and Piper de facto became my dog, the same happened when my other daughter moved out with my granddaughter. Skye is the happiest dog on the planet, she has a huge array of toys thanks to all the girls. Think about it, she was born at a dog rescue. Some of the volunteers sole duty is to play with the dogs. Then she came to my house with a then 7 year old, a friendly, bigger, protective dog-brother and then my daughter and me to play fetch, go on walks, get treats and be spoiled. When Piper died she was mopey and sad, her energy was down. Skye was dog-depressed. I was just depressed. I decided after about four weeks that she needed a new buddy.
After missing out on some potential dogs to rescue and adopt, we found Ripple in a rescue over in NJ. He had been brought up from SC with seven other dogs that were somehow related. If Skye is the happiest dog ever, with the best upbringing and situation. Ripple was the saddest. He was five, or that is what the vet estimated and had been in the home of an animal hoarder. A house with 40 other dogs. No vaccinations prior to rescue, bad teeth- six were pulled before he was up for adoption, malnourished, abused by being chained outside. He wasn't house trained or neutered and weighed only 9 lbs. He now weighs just over 11.5 lbs which is normal.
He liked being with other dogs because that was what he was used to. A mini-Pinscher/Chihuahua mix he is slightly smaller than Skye. Now almost11 months later he still has trust issues. He is still very skittish. I taught him to go up stairs, but he can't go down, won't walk on a leash and doesn't understand play. Mini-Pini's are called the "king of the toys," because they like to play. He doesn't play at all, doesn't know why Skye would drop toys in front of him- which he found frightening. Skye tried but mostly dismisses him. He also rarely makes a sound. One night about three weeks after coming to my house he stood in the hallway making a sad half howl, half bark that sounded like he was trying to say his name but crying, it sounded like "Ripple, Ripple ROOOO"- but hardly ever since that time. Still I am grateful he is here. He has an occasional accident in the house, but we are all thankful that Skye isn't mopey anymore even if he doesn't play with her. They go outside together and tear around the yard but don't really play. He's curious and happy even if everything scares him.
The Answerman says "I am thankful for the wonderful four legged, tail wagging friends that I've had in my adult life. When times were tough, all made me feel better. Losing Piper hurt, but rescuing an imperfect, psychologically damaged li'l guy named Ripple made me feel better. Doing something that helped him and Skye makes me happier. Happy Thanksgiving."
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