I'm always happiest when I have a dog living in my house. To me a dog means safety, love, companionship, the ability to go for evening runs, a reason to not work too late after closing, a companion for nights of insomnia, etc. I've missed Vader immensely. Especially at night. Whenever I stirred in my sleep, he'd come check on me, give me a reassuring kiss, and I'd usually fall right back to sleep. Even on his last night, he kept coming to check on me.
I've been wanting a dog pretty much ever since he died - I never got used to not having one. Tyson was against it because we were so busy. But as Tyrien became more independent, and as our friends kept toting the value of dogs, it felt like Tyson was beginning to soften. Tyler was asking for a dog, and anytime we were in the presence of dogs, the boys would spend a ton of time cuddling with them.
Even Tyson.
Tyler had started asking for a dog. I advised him to think about the chores that come with having a dog, and to prepare his marketing spiel before approaching his dad.
Tyler's rhetoric must have worked, because on my birthday, just a little over two years after Vader died, Tyson gave me this, the most wonderful present.
We kept this gift hidden from the boys. My birthday gift could also be their Christmas gift!
Little did we know, that same evening, a stray dog was picked up and brought to the Maricopa County Animal Shelter.
Back in Tucson, I began my search for a canine companion. The first time I went to the local animal shelter, I felt completely overwhelmed. So much noise, so many people, so many dogs. My criteria was pretty specific - I was looking for a Labrador Retriever mix, at least 1 year old, under 60 pounds, black fur, and preferably male. I didn't find anything like that. Instead, I found a tan, female lab mix named Alice, who seemed sweet, but she was there with her sister, they were hoping they'd be adopted together. No way were we getting two dogs! I decided if she were still there the next weekend, I'd try meeting her in person.
The next weekend, I brought Tyrien with me. Tyrien dubbed the shelter "The Dog House." We didn't find any new dogs that met our criteria, so we went to check on Alice. When Tyrien approached her kennel, she growled at him and showed her teeth. Okay, no Alice for us. I immediately saw the value in bringing the family with me to meet potential dogs.
When I came home empty-handed a second time, Tyson declared, "I'm going to have to get involved, aren't I?" We were coming up on Christmas. The goal was to get a dog just before Christmas, so we could work with it while we were home over winter break. I started researching dogs in the animal shelters up in Phoenix. It turned out that there were far more dogs meeting my criteria there.
On Saturday, December 22nd, we secretly loaded Vader's old crate into the truck bed and strapped it down. We attended Tyler's Lil Dragons class, as usual. Grandma G was visiting, and joined us. When Tyler realized we were driving all the way to Phoenix instead of going home, he became very upset. We tried to convince him that this trip would be worth it for him, but we didn't give away the surprise. He griped throughout the drive. When we entered the animal shelter, he complained about the smell and all the noise. Tyrien was excited, since he'd already been to one dog house, he knew he'd get to see lots of animals and that some of them would let him cheer them up.
I couldn't locate the dogs I'd found on line at first, except for one, a small female lab mix named Maggie. A young couple was waiting to get to meet her, so we needed to wait until they made up their mind before we could even visit with her. I realized we were looking for all the same dogs they were, our criteria matched too closely. But Tyson had told me he was interested in dogs larger than my original search, so I asked the gentleman to point me in the direction of the dogs that were too large for them. Eventually, they decided not to take that dog, because she had been brought in for attacking cats, and they already had a cat. So Tyson went to try to meet her through the kennel, while I waited in line to arrange for a private meeting.
Tyson texted me that Maggie was warming up to him, letting him pet her through the kennel. But there were other flags in her file, and the employee couldn't get the computer system to let her see them. Since we had small children with us, she didn't allow us to meet the dog without seeing the file first. Meanwhile, Grandma G had wandered through the "puppies and kittens" section of the shelter - an area I had deemed off limits. She found me and informed me that there were dogs over a year old in the puppy aisle. I looked up my search again, and asked Tyson to try to find a dog named Forrest.
While the employee was apologizing again for not being able to access Maggie's file, Tyson texted that Forrest was already warming up to him. I asked if we could meet Forrest instead. She immediately lit up, saying, "Now, THAT'S the kind of dog I like to adopt."
The employee sent us to an outside kennel. We waited a few minutes for her to bring Forrest on a large rope. She let him off leash. He sniffed Tyson, darted away from Tyrien, Tyler and me, sniffed Grandma G, who had sat down on a plastic chair. She patted his head, and he joyously lifted his leg and urinated on her. Poor Grandma. She was a good sport about it.
Forrest was huge, filthy, stinky, with matted fur, fur missing from the edges of his ears, and dark gritty matter inside his ears. But Tyson saw a diamond in the rough and was able to pet him right away. Forrest took a while to warm up to the rest of us. The employee explained that he had just been neutered the day before, and was likely still groggy from the anesthesia. She explained that he had been brought in as a stray and they had no background information on him. He had no interest in fetch. He was much more interested in splashing in the baby pool, which he wasn't allowed to do, as he wasn't supposed to get his incision wet. We would have to wait 10 days to give him a bath. Man, that dog stank. Tyrien, surprisingly, ignored Forrest, preferring to throw rocks in the baby pool. Eventually, Forrest warmed up to Tyler, and Tyler muttered hopelessly, "I wish he could come home with us." Tyson and I answered, "Okay." Tyler looked up, confused. "You want a dog for Christmas, right? Do you want this one?" Finally, the trip seemed worthwhile to him.
We had to wait quite a while longer to get Forrest. I had to fill out paperwork, pay fees, and then go to a different part of the shelter and wait for him to be brought to us. The employee who brought him warned, "He's a big time countersurfer." Next we had to take him to another part of the clinic for his microchip and blood test. Each employee we passed warned, "That dog is a major countersurfer." Tyson prepared the crate in the back of the truck. The employee who had been working with us expressed concern about Forrest riding in the back of the truck for the drive back to Tucson. The dog weighed 67 pounds. There were five passengers. No way was he fitting inside the cab of the truck. Tyson calmly pointed out, "He rode in the back of a truck to get here, right?" She kindly located a huge, warm horse blanket and some treats. We had brought a water bowl, anchored it to the crate, and filled it with water. Next, we tried to get the dog up into the bed of the truck. He refused
I tried showing him how to climb up, to no avail. I tried walking him a few feet back, and running directly at the truck. That didn't work either. Aware that the employee was still standing there, watching us, judging us, I finally approached Forrest like a lamb, and picked him up, all 67 pounds, and placed him in the truck. I used treats to get him into the crate. He cried when I locked the crate. I climbed into the truck with the rest of the family. As I buckled in, he began barking. We heard a wrenching, clunking sound. Tyson muttered, "That was the water dish." Next, he started attacking the crate, trying to pry his way out. I saw that employee was still standing there, watching us. We worried the crate wouldn't last for the drive home. "I'll ride in the back with him."
I climbed into the bed of the truck, and curled up around the crate. Tyson drove gently to an In and Out restaurant. We brought him out of the crate, taking turns to enter the restaurant for the restroom, taking turns eating, and of course, feeding him hamburger. He warmed up to us all very quickly right about then.
Tyson walked him around the parking lot. For not wanting a dog, he sure gave him a lot of love and attention!
We had talked about the name Kenobi before we met Forrest. We realized Kenobi was too long, and Forrest ended with a hard consonant. Plus, he wasn't responding to it, so obviously it wasn't his name.We needed a name that was two syllables and that could be drawn out when we needed to call him. We started trying out various Jedi names. Obi-wan. Three syllables. Obi - no we already knew a dog named that. Yoda - no, this dog was too big. Mace. Too short. Windu. Didn't seem to fit him. Qui-Gon. Too hard to say. So we started trying out sith names. Maul. Too short and seemed like a bad idea to give such a dangerous sounding name to a large dog. Anakin. Sidious. Palpatine. Kylo Ren - too many syllables. Kylo. Rolls right off the tongue. And given his behavior in the crate, seemed apropos. Kylo!
Everyone who met Kylo loved him, talked about how striking he was, with that brindle coat. Amazing, because I still couldn't get over the stench.
We loaded him back into the truck. Poor Grandma G was very nervous for me to ride in the back of the truck on the freeway, where the speed limit is 75mph. I wasn't thrilled about it, but honestly, I've had to do it once before. It wasn't as cold that time, though. And I was younger. And it was only partway, when we'd lost a tiedown for a grill we were transporting. I decided to try riding in the cab. Kylo was much calmer this time. Nonetheless, he remained standing for three quarters of the drive. Finally, around Picacho Peak, he decided to lay down.
When we got to our house, we took him for a quick walk up and down the block. When we let him in the house, he bounded onto the couch, bashing and crashing into everything. Then, on leash, we gave him a tour of our house and back yard. His size and enthusiasm were overwhelming. Kylo knew he wanted to be inside that house. But he clearly didn't know how to behave inside a house. Talk about a bull in a china shop!
This dog is so TALL! Now we saw what the shelter staff meant by "countersurfing." Anything on our breakfast bar and kitchen counters was within his reach, and wow, was he reaching. He entered the family room and turned into a toddler, finding all kinds of hazards to chew. His tail knocked glasses off the coffee table. He tried to get on the couch. Anesthesia - bah! This dog was hyped up beyond belief.
We dug frozen salmon patties out of our freezer. Tyson cooked them and put them in a bowl for Kylo - we hoped the omega 3s would help him recover from being malnourished. He gobbled down his dinner in 39 seconds. I know, because I timed it. When he drank water, he gulped it, but then let it splatter all over the floor.
Eventually, he settled enough to sit.
Then we realized he was interested in watching TV.
We ended up putting a show about dogs on for him. He was so excited whenever he heard the dogs bark, and ran around the living room looking for them. Then he would sit to watch the show again.
I went to the pet store to get him some supplies. When you bring home a dog whose gone through a rough time, it feels so good to pamper and spoil him. Even though it wasn't yet Christmas, I bought him a giant rawhide bone.
He hated it.
Poor Kylo looked so emaciated. His ribs, vertebrae and scapula were all showing, and his hips looked so thin. It felt good to give him Vader's orthopedic bed instead of leaving him to rest on hard tile. Even though he was in a new environment, he fell sound asleep!
That night, we had him sleep in a crate in our room. He whined at first, then settled down. Until Tyson came to bed. Then he started crying again. Frustrated, Tyson left to sleep on the couch. I resisted the urge to let him out of the crate. Eventually he settled down and went to sleep.
The next couple of days, Tyler went out of his way to show Kylo lots of TLC.
After a couple nights, we started leaving the door to his crate open at night. Kylo would sleep in the crate until Tyson came to bed, then would sleep on the floor next to him. He clung to Tyson during the day. Tyson commented "He must have imprinted with me. Because you're doing all the work but he's acting like he's my dog!" I thought that was GREAT - Vader and Tyson were never close the way Dusty and Tyson were. I was excited for Tyson to have a close bond with a dog again.
Tyrien kept asking if we had to take Kylo back to the dog house. He didn't seem able to believe that Kylo was really going to live with us. There were lots of tears at first, as Kylo's exuberant greetings would send Tyrien crashing to the floor. We all had scratches and teeth marks on our arms. Shirts were torn. Food got stolen. Toys were chewed. Carpets were stained and plants were urinated on.
And Tyler's love for Kylo warmed my heart.
