Pip

My younger sister works at the dog kennels in our small town. She's been there for about a year now. Dogs come and go, and she gets to meet and play with all of them. Ty has always had a soft spot for animals, especially dogs.

When my sister first met Pip, he was brought in by his owner, an elderly lady who lived on a ranch. Pip was her ranch hand. He hustled around the land she owned and fought off foxes that tried to steal the chickens and the rats that would get into the shed. He was a good old man just doing his job.

My sister described him as "a sweet old man with rough dirty hair, a serious but kind look in his eye, and a hankering for treats." She showed us a few pictures and oh boy did he look like a dirty ranch dog.

A few days later, I remember Ty calling me crying,

"Taylor, it's Pip," she said through sobs.

"Oh God, Ty, what happened?..." I asked cautiously thinking the dog died or something. What Ty told me next was absolutely angering.

Pip's owner had come back to the dog kennels on Pip's pick up day with another dog. A younger dog. This lady tells my sister, "So I don't want Pip anymore. I have a new dog and he and Pip just don't get along. Pip is just too old and too aggressive." Now this new dog she had brought in was ALL over the place. He clearly wasn't trained. He was running around, knocking things/people over, practically ran over Pip. You could see how Pip might have gotten aggressive with him. This dog was a pain in the ass!

"So, what? You're just giving Pip up?" my sister asked.

"Well, if you could find a home for him, that'd be nice."

So basically my sister was freaking out because this poor guy just got abandoned because he was old, and he no longer had a place to stay.

"Taylor I need to bring him home. I don't care if Mom doesn't want another dog." So she brought the old guy home.

Oh boy, was this guy stinky. He had lived outside on a ranch his whole life so it was understandable. We bathed him, brushed him, even bought him a new sweater and collar. He looked like a new man. It would probably take a couple washes to get all the dirt out that he had gathered up in his fur for the past eight years but he was clean for now.

Let me tell you my first encounter with Pip. I was sitting on the couch with my feet on the floor. Pip comes over, sits down in front of my feet, and just puts his head in between my legs. And he just sat there.

"Uhhhh Ty... Whats going on?" I looked sideways at Ty. Like, what is this guy doing?! He was just... leaning on me, not moving.

"Oh, he just does that. He likes to be close to you." Ty explained to me that she thinks he didn't get a lot of love when he lived on the ranch seeing as he was an outside dog.

So he just stayed like that. For a while. Not moving. Head between my legs.

He followed Ty everywhere. That was his girl. Whenever she stopped moving, BOOM, there he was right between her legs. If she was somewhere he couldn't get to her legs, he would be sitting right next to her just staring. As he's grown accustomed to living here, now he does that to all of us.

Since living here, he's picked up many new habits. The couch is one of them. Oh, does that man love his couch. He didn't have a couch at his old house, just some dirt probably. He will lie on the couch all day if you'd let him. He comes outside sometimes but only to go potty and eat. Other wise he's right under our feet or on the couch. Another habit he has picked up is "pets." He loves his pets. If he wants love and attention he will stare at you intently, doing this little gruff noise. Then if that doesn't grab our attention he makes a sneezing noise until you look at him and finally give him some pets. And if you dare stop those pets when he's still enjoying them, you are in for a handful of those attitude filled gruffing noises.

Pip has lost a home in his little life but he has also gained such a better home, a home with love, treats, a couch to sleep on, and humans to give pets. He is extremely happy where he is now and everyone is extremely happy for him.

There have been a lot of dogs given up because they are too old. Please before going to buy a thousand dollar puppy, look in shelters first. You will find some of the sweetest dogs in there who may happen to have just a few gray hairs.