Our family is being forced to keep a shameful dirty secret. So, shhh, please do not share this with anybody. But, I have to get it out. I have never been good at keeping things in.
Okay, here goes. Our new puppy, Daisy, has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD.
I warned you it was bad.
On the way home from the Humane Society with the little scamp wrapped in my son's arms, she was so sweet. It's as if she knew not to reveal the truth of what she was made of, the devil inside. She pretended to be complacent, a bit shy, and strangely calm for a puppy. But, with her disease being the strength that it is, the signs slammed at us by the second day.
One minute she was chasing my son around the living room, and then the next she was running toward me trying to figure out what that laughing sound was coming out of my mouth. That was when I first suspected. Then came the chasing of our old cat, to noticing her tail and having to chase it, to attacking an innocent stick.
The first night with Daisy, she snuck into my room twice to play. Waking up to a dog trying to chew your arm to wake is not a pretty scene. Other family members gave the same report in the morning. This dog is relentless.
The other animals of the house knew about her before we did. But then, they are all old and wise. Our Australian Shepherd won't play her puppy games. The twelve year old cats will barely sniff at her. But who can blame them? We don't really know if ADHD is contagious.
On her way to the food bowl last night, she passed the open dishwasher. Before I could even pour in the detergent, she had hopped up on to the open dishwasher door, grabbed a spatula, and was out the dog door teething on it! I think that spatula is the only thing she has been able to concentrate on for more than 15 seconds. Sad, isn't it.
I believe that enjoyment of the spatula brought about her other ailment. Oh, can I go on with what disorders poor Daisy has? This one may be worse. I've heard people whispering about it in back alleys and biker bars. It's called teething.
Thank you, readers, for letting me spill my guts out to you. I have no one else to turn to. But, well, the pup has been chewing on old shoes, table legs, foam blocks, a door stopper, and occasionally her dog toys. My only comfort here is that we agreed for her to only chew on a pair of my old stained pink shoes. She has been quite reasonable about that. I'm thinking that they probably smell the worst out of all of them.
Right now she is asleep in a fold of blankets on my bed. Being cute is the only thing that has kept us from tossing her back at the Humane Society. It would serve them right, having to take her back. I mean, how were we supposed to know that puppies have so much energy, chew things, and want to play all the time?
Well, at least we know Daisy won't get much bigger than she is now at two months. Because a St. Bermastiff, half St. Bernard and half Bull Mastiff, doesn't get much bigger, right?
Heather Leigh,
acknowledged companion of ADHD puppy
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