Published: October 08, 2008 05:43 pm         

A dog named Bailey, a thing called patience

I love reading Ward Degler’s columns on his dog, Brutie. Today I have a dog story. My family has a year-old black lab named Shadow, whom we bought as a puppy from a Pittsboro breeder for our son, Joe. She’s been a wonderful pet and companion, with a bright, outgoing personality, ever playful and inquisitive. (Translation: she jumps on everyone and tries to eat goose poop on our walks).

A few months ago, we started thinking about getting a second dog as a playmate for Shadow. We knew we wanted another lab. But another puppy? Not so much. We went online and found Love of Labs Indiana, a local lab rescue group (www.lolin.org). Hands down, this organization is the most efficient I’ve ever dealt with. We filed an online application on a Friday and got a call the next day. Within five days, we were approved to adopt and went online to see the available dogs.

The featured dog was “Cubby,” a sweet-looking, 2-year-old, black, male lab wearing a red neckerchief. The write-up on him said he was a little shy and skittish, but lovable and gentle. I liked Cubby from the get-go, but my husband and son liked Ike and Dixon, two more macho-looking dogs. Since I do most of Shadow’s care-giving, my husband and son agreed I’d get first pick.

We met Cubby and his foster mom, Lola, on a Saturday afternoon at a park in Brownsburg, where she lives. He and Shadow sniffed each other, and all was well. Cubby let us pet him and walk him on a leash. He seemed like a good dog — not a barker, his foster mom assured us — with a more serene disposition to balance Shadow’s peppier one. He was also crate-trained and house-broken. Before we left, we decided Cubby was the “guy” for us and agreed to pick him up the next day.

Interestingly, we were advised to give Cubby a new name to signify a break from his past. I chose “Bailey,” perhaps because of George Bailey, the character Jimmy Stewart plays in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” one of my favorite movies. Whatever the reason, Bailey seemed like a good fit for this little guy.

We drove home and, after first walking him around the neighborhood (as fans of Cesar Milan’s “Dog Whisperer” know to do), we brought Bailey into our fenced-in yard with Shadow. To say the two dogs ignored each other would be an understatement. After a while, we tried to get Bailey to come into the house. No dice. No amount of “treat” offers could entice him to cross the threshold from our patio steps into our kitchen. In fact, he wasn’t motivated by food at all.

And so it went. More days of ignoring Shadow, more refusals to come inside. (Don’t worry, gentle reader, we put a leash on Bailey for walks, to bring him inside for an afternoon rest in his crate and each evening to sleep). But my son and I began to think Bailey was a bust.

My husband encouraged us to have patience. Things will change, he said. Things will change. Bailey will get used to us and be a great pet. We tried patience.

And so it happened. This week, Bailey started playing with Shadow. They ran around the yard; they wrestled a chew toy together; they lay down side by side. Now they do this each day.

As I write this column, Bailey is lying at my feet; Shadow’s sleeping on the sofa. Bailey is still not the most eager to come inside, but he will take a treat and cross the threshold. I walk the two of them every day and Bailey walks proudly, tail held high, disdaining the goose poop Shadow still enthusiastically gobbles.

I think the lesson of Bailey is one we all need when we’re discouraged by a difficult child, a goal we’re trying to reach or a situation we need to weather. Have patience. Things will change. Have patience. Things will change.

A lifelong Connecticut resident, Cynthia DiTallo Starks and her family moved to Zionsville in 2006. E-mail her at cindy.starks@timessentinel.com.

     

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