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Wednesday, August 1, 2012



Happy Anniversary Odie

It has been 3 month over a year since I adopted Odie from Thee Fishbowl in Evanston IL. And what a year it has been!

Odie came to me tired and worn. He slept for the first week and was very docile in the beginning. We had our challenges as to who was in charge. We both had our meltdowns. I was helped tremendously by Marlene from Bark Busters.

Odie has traveled with me to Cleveland, North Carolina and New Mexico. He loves to be in the car and sees traveling as a great partnership…even when I steer him into a pole on occasion (by accident!).

One of the things I learned early on with him is that he is an agent of change. Who knows in how many homes he has lived. He is so well trained and understands the nuances of a house (furniture, cats, stairs, treats). 

Odie came in at a time when I was working for myself, having just moved to Evanston and spending a lot of time at home. He seemed to take it upon himself to get me out of the house. Sometimes with him, but more importantly, for longer periods of time! And lo, come October, just 5 short months into our relationship, I had a new full time job at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. And away I go, off to work. Odie enjoys the routine of morning and evening walks and is so much more attached to the routine of the activity instead of the time of the activity. Phew! He lets me sleep in on the weekends.

After another couple of months he made it clear that he was uncomfortable due to the severe glaucoma he was suffering from. He and I made a plan to raise the money for his surgery. I told him that if he really wanted this to happen he needed to spend those long leisurely naps talking to people and telling them what he needed. With great enthusiasm he agreed and within a month we had raised enough money to cover the cost of his surgery (double eye enucleation).

Odie’s surgery was an adventure in and of itself. The poor boy struggled with tremendous pain but came through it like a champ. Every day he still continues to improve and now his fur is growing back so beautifully making him the lion head dog he truly is!

Odie has opened up so many doors to me in one short year. I wonder what other amazing adventures he will take me on. I hope that I can bring as much joy to his life as he has brought me as we continue to grow and change together discovering everything we cannot see come manifest. I believe that we fulfill each other’s dreams, with an occasional meltdown in between.

Join me in toasting my favorite Ph.D. program as I welcome Odie to his first year anniversary with me.