Ever since I saw the movie Elf, I have always said that if I ever had a baby girl, I would name her Jovie after Buddy the Elf's girlfriend. Well, I can't have kids so a puppy was a pretty decent consolation prize. Naturally we named her Jovie.
An adorable, cute, precocious, and smart little girl from Texas. The story about how we got her is a little comical now that it is all said and done, but experiencing it was a little anxiety inducing. I was in the midst of a Lyme flare-up and we thought this little Punkin would help me get through some of my toughest days. We got her in the middle of a frigid Northland double-digit below zero cold snap. At midnight. In a dark parking lot on the side of the road. From a transport van. Since we had not seen her in person, we had a lot of trepidation on what would be handed to us, especially since the first dog off the van was a three legged german shepherd. Perhaps that was an omen.
Jovie was handed to me wrapped in a blanket of piss pads since her kennel mate had shit all over the kennel leaving Jovie covered in poop. But she was perfect and I fell in love almost instantly. I had my baby girl named Jovie.
The first few days were challenging, as it is with any new baby. I loved it. Waking up in the wee hours of the night to bring a tiny puppy outside in the coldest of colds filled my heart. Like no joke. I embraced it, cherished it, and felt like I had a real baby for a while. Though caring for Jovie was filling my heart, it was affecting my health. My sleep was impacted, my mental health was impacted, and Jovie seemed to be growing right before our very eyes.
Everyday we would wake up, and Jovie was bigger, taller, smarter. We were very up front and adamant that we were interested in a small to medium size dog....20-30 lbs max. Well, by 2 months old, Jovie was closer to 40 lbs than she was to 30. At 2 months old, we were struggling to take her for walks for her sheer size and power.
In addition to her size, she just really wanted to be with other dogs; she loved other dogs so much! For a brief while, we considered getting a second dog just to make this first one happy, but we really did not want a second dog. In fact, we were having doubts about this one. Jovie's eyes just did not seem happy. I would look into her eyes and see that she wanted more activity and stimulation. Poor Jovie ended up with two old ladies looking for a lap dog, and she was an active spirit. She was super smart and would have made a perfect police dog as she just cherished the times when we would do obedience training with her.
Oh, and did I mention she bit me? She was a mouthy, nippy puppy and seemed to have an underlying aggressive streak. We became fearful to discipline her as she would challenge us. Once we got her DNA results of half pit bull followed second by German Shepherd, our fears multiplied. All those Judge Judy court cases about pit bulls did not sit well with either one of us, and we realized that having this dog was a huge liability. Dreams of walking her off leash were crushed. Dreams of having my baby girl were also diminishing as we were questioning if we could safely keep her, control her, and she just didn't seem happy.
After much heartache we ultimately decided that Jovie was not the best match for us. Deciding to rehome Jovie was a very difficult and emotional decision, but was ultimately the right one. She is now in the most perfect home for her with a canine sibling, horses, and a very active young couple.
So many lessons to be had from this brief encounter with a spunky pup. First, I have always judged people who have rehomed their pets. I thought it was deplorable to do so, but now I see that there are circumstances that make rehoming necessary. Who am I to judge someone else's circumstances? I had to work through a lot of guilt and shame over making the decision to rehome Jovie, but it is a decision I have no doubt in my head was the right one to make. Second, Jovie reminded me that animals, and people, have an innate way of being that is something that cannot be trained out of them. I wear a scar on my chin and a scar on my wrist from Jovie as a daily reminder of this lesson. And Third, in the future if a pup is to come into our home, we will meet her first. Get a feel for the personality. Make the connection with the eyes. Feel the energy.
I am very grateful for the time we had with Jovie, though, I am happy to not have the responsibility of having a dog. Still, my need for a baby is still strong so we are in the market for another snowshoe siamese kitten. Perhaps a dog will be in our future yet, but that journey will be handled with a little more wisdom.
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