I was never a “dog person.” They have always frightened
and/or annoyed me. I never wanted to play with dogs, pet them, be responsible
for them when friends needed help, have their slobber and fur on me and my
stuff, pick up their messes, or do anything else that even people who feel
indifferent about dogs can manage to undertake. I am the least likely candidate
to ever become a dog owner.
But by some miracle (and perhaps just enough persuasion from
the husband), I changed.
It only took two years of marriage and one trip to the
Humane Society for us to pick out an adorable, friendly, non-barking puppy. A
few hours and one greasy dinner from In-n-Out burger later, we decided that we
would name this fur ball Sadie. On the day we took her home, we made a stop
along the way and Sadie used the bathroom outside of the car.
She’s already trained! What a great pup! Now we’re just
going to let her frolic in the backyard, play frisbee, go for walks together,
and she’s just going to be the most perfect puppy ever!
Boy, were we wrong.
The first time Sadie stayed in the backyard, she dug her way
out and we had to go pick her up from the police. Sadie let a frisbee hit her
in the face before she would ever catch it. The “walk” turned into a “drag” and
was unquestionably embarrassing for me, Sadie, or anyone who happened to
observe the spectacle. Long before the shoe chewing, late-night poo cleaning,
three sets of destroyed blinds, breaking-and-entering into the neighbor’s
house, and locking us out of our own house on Thanksgiving, Sadie was stripped
of her “Most Perfect Puppy Ever” title. She’s now known on the streets as
“Sadie the Destroyer.”
Don’t get me wrong; I love Sadie. She’s now very well-trained and disciplined. She’s taught me patience, responsibility, when to relax, and that a little slobber on my jeans or fur in the house is just part of being a dog owner. She still has her moments of misbehavior, but now that’s she’s our furry little family member, I never want it any other way.
Sadie traveled to Korea with us and will undoubtedly make a
few appearances in photos and stories along the way. Also, I thought it was
appropriate to give Sadie a little shout out on a blog that was named after an
incident in which she placed undue anxiety on Mark.
That incident: Dog on Roof.
It was the 4th of July and Mark had gone to visit
friends in Hermosa Beach with Sadie in tow. Mark stayed with his friend, Brandon,
who was totally cool with Sadie staying at his place while Mark was there. With
the house on one side, the garage on the opposite side, and two fences running
parallel to each other, the backyard was completely enclosed. The house sat at
a higher elevation than the garage; so much that you barely noticed the garage
when standing in the backyard.
After the daytime festivities, the evening called for the
guys to go out, eat, drink, and be merry. Leaving Sadie in Brandon’s backyard
for the evening, the guys went to enjoy themselves.
Not long into the evening, another friend who had recently
stopped at Brandon’s place only to meet up with the group later delivered some
unexpected news to Mark.
“There’s a note on the house. Sadie’s been taken by Animal
Control.”
Mark didn’t know what the problem could be. Had she been
barking? Did she escape? Abandoning the evening’s original plans, Mark’s new
mission was to locate the dog.
Frustrated but determined, Mark began storming through the
crowded streets toward Brandon’s place. He wasn’t thinking about being polite
or slow on this half-mile power walk back to the house.
If you’ve never met Mark in person, here’s a brief snapshot
of the guy: 6’4” and about 220 pounds. If a dude of that size is weaving and bumping
his way through a crowd, most people will yield.
But when Mark shoulder checked and spun around the next guy
in the crowd, the brave soul decided to confront Mark.
“Hey man, what’s your problem?”
He had every right to ask that question.
“My f---ing dog just got arrested!!” was the response he
received.
Just think about that for a second. There is no good
response to that statement. When a large man tells you that his f---ing dog
just got arrested, you say “okay” and let him go.
Finally back at the house, Mark found the notice from Animal
Control.
Yes, the offense that Sadie committed was “dog on roof.”
And the description, “your dog, white w/ black spots was on
roof we have in custody” left no doubt that this was our dog.
Apparently, Sadie had taken advantage of the elevation
difference between the ground in the backyard and the roof of the garage. It
was only about a 2-foot step up from one to the other, and on a holiday weekend
in a vacation town, Sadie probably wanted to get a view from the top and see
what everyone was so excited about. Or maybe when she saw Mark leave she
thought he was leaving her forever and was trying to follow him.
Nonetheless, Mark located the now very distraught Sadie at
Animal Control. The officer who had “arrested” Sadie had been concerned about
the possibility of her jumping off the roof. Mark was mostly concerned about
cleaning up a now filthy animal while hungover.
Sadie has not had any dog on roof experiences since that time. However, we never know what she has in store for us. We will continue to document the life and times of Dog on Roof when she decides to entertain us.
