Adopting Sully: A Neurotic Dog

It has been nearly four months since I sat down at my desk to write. It’s not that I did not have the desire. Sometimes life simply gets in the way. I admit losing Thor in April was an enormous loss. He was a great dog, though some may disagree…like the vet team that neutered him and were hesitant to open his cage when it was time to leave, or the Jehovah’s Witness who graciously left her pamphlets on a chair outside our door when Thor stood up at the window to greet her. I never saw someone walk backward so quickly. She never took her eyes off of him.

Thor was a 120-pound German Shepard and all black until the day he died. He was the last of his litter; surviving his brother Leo by a few weeks. His bark shook the house and often scared off people, but he was actually afraid of everything. He absolutely loved people, but scared them to the core. Maybe it was his size of color. I’ve heard many people express their distrust in black dogs. I suppose they are superstitious. If only people would have trusted us when we told them he was a wonderful dog. When given the chance, he was fine around people and soaked up all the pets and treats he could get his paws on.

We had never owned a German Shepard until Thor. Shepards possessed a distinct personality, very different from our previous hunting and mixed breed dogs. He was obedient and locked into us, especially me. I was actually nervous because Thor never took his eyes off of me, and he followed me everywhere. I never had a dog that stared at me. .I grew to appreciate it, especially the few times I fell, and he stayed with me until I could get back up.

When my husband’s co-worker died in the line of duty, the entire department mourned the loss. Even though I never met K-9 Deputy Kyle Pagerly, his death hit close to home. The only way I coped was to write about the event, the officers involved, and on his K-9 partner, Jynx’s journey to second place at the Hero Dog Awards.

When Thor passed in April, we started looking for another dog. We had agreed years ago that we would adopt a grey muzzle. I wanted a retriever. My husband just wanted a dog. In less than a week, we had applied to three rescues, but unfortunately, our choices found other homes before receiving our application.

We started looking to shelters and saw a German Shepard names Sully. My husband quickly filled out the application and called the shelter to tell them he would be there in one hour. He fell in love despite Sully dragging the shelter worker on her butt down the hall. We would soon learn that Sully had several issues.

There was no cage in the car, but we have never needed a cage when we picked up a dog before. Why would this be any different? We had the leash, and Sully jumped right in. What could possibly go wrong?

I guess as we get older; we become complacent, disregarding the fact that he is still a two-time shelter return. Maybe we thought, “He knows to lie down and enjoy the ride like all the other dogs have done”.

We couldn’t have been more wrong. Bruce’s hour-long drive home was like unleashing a rabid racoon on crack inside the car. Sully barked at the top of his lungs, jumped over the seats, trying to get up front with Bruce, making undistinguishable siren like noises at every passing car, person,and dog he saw. With one hand on the wheel and the other holding Sully back, they finally pulled into the driveway.

Sully ran into the house and all I caught were flashes of tan and black as he jolted from room to room. It looked like a scene from Funny Farm. He stopped long enough for me to look him in the eyes and realize that we just inherited one crazy four-year-old high-energy dog! People our age should adopt grey muzzles that fit better into our slower paced lives. Not us. Sully was now ours, and our adventure just began.

Bruce introduced him to our fenced backyard. Sully saw a squirrel and chased after it, looking up as he ran across the yard, following the squirrel as they jumped tree limb to tree limb. Several birds flew to our bird feeders, and again, Sully chased after them, looking up as they flew away.

It must have overwhelmed Sully. Within the first hour home, he jumped the four-foot fence and disappeared. We had yet to register him with Home Again. Finding him was critical. We have a major highway near us. We did not know if he was street savvy. An hour later, a firefighter at our local station found him. Thanks to a Facebook user near me, Sully and Bruce were together again.

A week later, Sully jumped the fence. Bruce and the neighbor set out to find him. I stayed home, notified Home Again, several local online lost pet groups, and our local police department. An hour after trekking through the woods, tearing his pants, and getting cut by thorny bushes, Bruce found Sully a mile away on the other side of the highway. Sully was at a mini-farm was trying to herd sheep and a pig. Luckily, the animals were safe in pens. The owner tried to coral Sully, but as he tried to grab him, Sully saw a chipmunk in the owner’s rock pile and became obsessed with digging away the rocks.

The owner saw Bruce driving slowly up and down the street.

He flagged him down and said, “You look like a man who lost something.”

He brought Sully around the corner. Sully was fine, though covered in muddy water, algae, and his breathing sounded like a locomotive. Bruce brought him home and hosed him off. I was so happy to see him, but seriously wondered if this was the dog for us. After he dried off and smelled better, Sully jumped on the couch and settled down.

For the next week, he seemed to settle down enough that Bruce let him have free rein of the backyard. One week later, our neighbor called and said she just saw Sully jump the fence. Once again, Bruce and our neighbor set off to find him.

This time, an ambulance crew spotted him at the fire company, but he ran after a squirrel before they could grab him. For the fourth time in five weeks, they found Sully safe. The stress of the escapes was taking its toll.

We invested in the Halo GPS fence collar, but since being on a walker made it hard for me to train Sully, it fell on Bruce to get him obedient. We discovered another problem with training. Forty years of firearms training took its toll on Bruce’s hearing. He could not hear the warnings from the collar; therefore, he could not coordinate the correction timing with Sully’s actions.

We hired a trainer to help us. Though we could not address everything, Sully started listening better and calming down.

The fence issue still had to be addressed. People were chiming in to install a hot wire. We live in a neighborhood and have small children next door. That was out. I explained to Bruce that if we could raise the chain link place it at a 45-degree angle, Sully couldn’t jump. He agreed, but we didn’t know if it could be done. After a little research, we found what we were looking for on Amazon. To save a little money, Bruce installed it himself. A week later, he finished the fence, and to Sullys surprise, he could no longer escape. He tried at least fifteen times before giving up. Stalag 13 was complete, but instead of barbed wire, we used a vinyl coated wire. Sully was safe, and we could relax!

With all of this going on, I still had to focus on my full-time job and my health while also intervening with my mother’s nursing home regarding a medical issue.

As frustrating as the past few months have been with Sully, I’m glad we adopted him. They say it takes three days for a shelter dog to get used to a house; three weeks to adjust to their new owners; and three months to settle down. We are nearing the three-month mark with Sully and can honestly say he is a wonderful dog. There is not a mean bone in his body. With each day, he settles in more and more with us. He has a feeding, outdoor, and bedtime schedule and he sticks to it.

Adopted free dog.
*$100 donation to shelter.
*$45 Pet Key subscription mistake
*$15 Pet Key tag
*$24.99 Home Again Subscription
*$15.99 Metal oval Home Again tag
*$167 Initial Pet Exam
*$50 Dog cage for Subaru
*$600 Dog trainer
*$35 Nightengale collar
*$695 Halo GPS/ invisible fence collar
*50 Outside beacon chip
*$525 Pole extensions and wire mesh for existing fence
*$60 Toys
*$58 couch cover

We love him despite his rough start. There are still a few issues to deal with, but he’s in his forever home with a patient family that tells him every day what a good boy he is. We will continue to address his remaining neurotic issues…like incessant barking at delivery trucks, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, fire sirens, nail biting and chasing sky raisings.

Sully total to date $2,440.98. The love we have for this neurotic dog and the love he shows us; PRICELESS!