My Dogs are on Prozac and Wear Diapers. Totally Normal, Right???

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of ones soul remains unawakened."
Anatole France

I love, love, love, animals! However, all my dogs are whacky crackers. They are all rescue dogs and came to us with issues. Kai is the larger white dog. She is a complete sweetheart, but she is afraid of everything. It was very clear that she had been abused. It took her months before she started to begin to trust my husband, and every time I touched her she would flinch. Why any human feels they should abuse a helpless animal is besides me. 

Chester is the black dog. He is all black except for white hair surrounding his anus. When I saw this unique feature, I knew he had to be mine. That and the fact that all the other dogs in the shelter were barking and Chester just sat quietly looking at me with his big brown eyes. He loves everyone and everyone loves him. A total sweetheart! He was abandoned when his owners moved. They just left him, and their daughter surrendered him to the shelter. His hair was long, matted, and he was covered in oil. He actually helped Kai and would gently correct her when she was anxious (barking at other dogs/people). He is currently going blind, but still loves to play fetch by listening for the bounce sound and sniffing it out. Chester gets anxious when we leave him and has gone as far as jumping through a window. 

Then there is Toby, the small white dog. There is not enough Prozac in the world for Toby. He doesn't like men or large dogs, and thinks he is a guard dog. I'm not exactly sure what his original family did to him, but my guess is, it wasn't good. I rescued Toby to fill the void in my heart when my Father died. Toby and Chester will fight, sometimes Chester starts it and sometimes Toby does. After several years we have learned how to manage this. Currently, he is the only one on Prozac. However, they both wear diapers because they are both dominant and feel the need to mark their territory all over the house. Not cool, dogs. Not cool! 

We are a doggie dysfunctional family, but I try to focus on what I can learn from them. At times (pretty much all the time) it is a lot of work to care for them, what with changing and washing all those diapers. Bah! However, I feel animals are a precious gift to the human race. Especially animals we can have as pets. I choose to be grateful that household pets exist to give us unconditional love, compassion, empathy, and peace. We can learn so much from animals if we open our hearts to see their value. I have found that giving the dogs a calm and loving environment is better than any dose of prozac. 

Show animals respect, 

Lisa Karen