Red Room Where the Writers Are

Those of you that have been following this site for a while know I’m a survivor of long term domestic abuse.  However, you would also know I’m very happily remarried to the most amazing guy on the planet.  I’ve done numerous posts on many topics…including my dog.  She was only a puppy when I had to flee my home.

Due to the fact my abuser was also a stalker, it was necessary to have a police escort to certain places where he was familiar.  The first time I had to go to the bank…a police officer walked me inside.  Twice, at my dentist…I had a police officer walk me inside and wait for me.  My dentist and staff were very kind. 

Now jump ahead in time…I am remarried and not only happy…but safe.  My dog, now grown…was no longer afraid of men.  She adores him.  If you read the post titled “Just Jenny”…there are many photos of her and one of her and my hubby.  It’s hysterical!

Jenny is extremely intelligent.

Jenny is very active.  She has large boxes of toys.  These are her “Babies”.  When she wants to play, she will take one of her “Babies” in her mouth and shake it violently from side to side.  Next, she will slap her little front paws on the ground with her butt up in the air.  Next, she gives us her “Baby” and that’s her way of telling us to throw it to her.  She will play catch until she has almost exhausted herself.  She runs around very fast…then will find a place to “hide”.  Of couse, she only hides her head…she hasn’t figured out that her entire body needs to be hidden.  She thinks if she can’t see you, then you cannot see her!

The thing she likes the best is the Red Laser Light.  It was Christmas a couple years ago, my Mom had gotten one for her.  The entire family was at my sister’s home.  She has pets, too.  However, when my Mom got that Laser Light out…it was my little Jenny that went ballistic.  Her reaction to this red laser light was so astonishing that the entire family began laughing until our tummies hurt.  Oh my gosh! 

I’ve often watched and heard my dog when she is dreaming.  Her little barks and the playful movement of her paws make me wonder what she is thinking.  I believe that Jenny has a little bit of Walter Mitty in her.  She is rather ambitious; I imagine she sometimes dreams of her contributions to humankind.  For example, she pioneered a novel approach to Radial Keratotomy   What’s that?  Do I hear laughter?  Perhaps I never told you of the times that Jenny tried using her “toilet toes” to incise my cornea.

Apparently not able to obtain diamond sharp instruments my dog decided to improvise.  I should explain that Jenny and I were playing “paws” and she got too close while we were on the floor. At first I did not think too much of this other than the little irritation that I felt.  Soon after playing, I fell asleep and when I awoke, I was in so much pain I needed to see a professional immediately.  I did not think of the episode I had with Jenny before falling asleep.  The doctor was convinced based on my symptoms of extreme pain and the feeling that a shade had been pulled down over one eye that I may have been experiencing a stroke.  The later symptom loss of vision in one eye is known as Amaurosis Fugax a frequent precursor to an impending stroke.  Too bad our resident “ophthalmologist” Jenny was not available to explain her procedure earlier that morning.  Just before being sent over to the hospital for a CAT scan and a carotid ultrasound, I remembered the irritation I felt after playing with Jenny.  The doctor put some drops in my eyes and soon the source of my pain was apparent.  She sent me to an eye doctor who noted that Jenny had “successfully” torn through all five layers of my cornea. As I noted Jenny’s aspiration to develop this medical technique was not a passing fancy.  Two months later while I was talking to my husband Jenny again managed to create another painful incision, the subsequent trip to the eye doctor again revealed all five layer were again torn. My husband noted that we should purchase “Doggles” for eye protection. 

 Her medical career in shambles Jenny visited my sister and her dog Emma.  Jenny and Emma thought that they had a contract to re-wallpaper my sister’s bathroom.  Undertaking their new Home Repair business, but again without the proper tools, they bit and scratched away not only the wallpaper but also the underlying drywall.  Apparently, because Jenny nor Emma could not read, they misunderstood that the work had just been completed only a few months before. The homeowner… my sister… was none too pleased.  The next day Jenny and Emma decided to go outside to play.   Still trying to earn her keep and apparently having watched “Roger & Me” the week before at our house, she realized the value of raising your own livestock. Remember that in the film Michael Moore documented that destitute residents of Flint Michigan had resorted to selling and eating rabbits.  Jenny thought why not, this was a skill more suited to her animal nature.  Nearby was a bunny, and well I do not have to say much more.  My sister found her and it took hours to clean all the rabbit blood off her fur.  She never ever did that again. 

 So now I sit and wonder and sometimes dread just what is she really dreaming?    

  Here’s a recent photo little “Dr. Jenny” while she was being groomed.    

Michelle