oggbashan
Dying Truth seeker
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2002
- Posts
- 56,017
On 23 December my neighbour's dog Elsa died.
She was walked past my house three times a day, often with two other dog walkers who had very placid Golden Retrievers. Elsa only tolerated those two. She would bark furiously at any other dog and try to attack them even if she could only reach their ankles. Elsa was a very small dog, half the size of an adult cat.
Elsa had been a middle-aged rescue dog, whose previous owners had neglected and mistreated her, so much so that they were prosecuted and convicted, banned from ever owning another dog.
My neighbours took her on, and she behaved well with them but she was odd with other people, even like me, people she saw frequently. She would come up to me with her tail wagging. But if I put a hand down to stroke her, she would nip my fingers. Even if I was holding a dog biscuit, she would take the biscuit and then nip. What I usually did was to hold the dog biscuit so Elsa could see it and then pass the biscuit to her owner. He (or she) would decide what to do depending on Elsa's mood that day. If they thought it was a good day, they would hold the biscuit for Elsa to take from their hand. If it was a bad day, they would put the biscuit on the ground about a foot ahead of Elsa and remove their hand quckly otherwise Elsa would nip the hand before going back for the biscuit.
Elsa's harness was labelled 'Beware! Nervous dog!'. It was true. Elsa's wagging tail was not a true indication of how she might behave. In five years I have managed to stroke Elsa four times without being nipped. Those were very good days.
But Elsa was a feature of the neighbourhood. She might have been bad-tempered and prone to nipping, but her wagging tail seemed to show she enjoyed life.
We will miss her.
She was walked past my house three times a day, often with two other dog walkers who had very placid Golden Retrievers. Elsa only tolerated those two. She would bark furiously at any other dog and try to attack them even if she could only reach their ankles. Elsa was a very small dog, half the size of an adult cat.
Elsa had been a middle-aged rescue dog, whose previous owners had neglected and mistreated her, so much so that they were prosecuted and convicted, banned from ever owning another dog.
My neighbours took her on, and she behaved well with them but she was odd with other people, even like me, people she saw frequently. She would come up to me with her tail wagging. But if I put a hand down to stroke her, she would nip my fingers. Even if I was holding a dog biscuit, she would take the biscuit and then nip. What I usually did was to hold the dog biscuit so Elsa could see it and then pass the biscuit to her owner. He (or she) would decide what to do depending on Elsa's mood that day. If they thought it was a good day, they would hold the biscuit for Elsa to take from their hand. If it was a bad day, they would put the biscuit on the ground about a foot ahead of Elsa and remove their hand quckly otherwise Elsa would nip the hand before going back for the biscuit.
Elsa's harness was labelled 'Beware! Nervous dog!'. It was true. Elsa's wagging tail was not a true indication of how she might behave. In five years I have managed to stroke Elsa four times without being nipped. Those were very good days.
But Elsa was a feature of the neighbourhood. She might have been bad-tempered and prone to nipping, but her wagging tail seemed to show she enjoyed life.
We will miss her.
