Clancy

Or as I fondly call him, Clancy-the-dog-from-h*ll. If he was my first experience with a dog, I would be a cat person for life. As Dakota is the quintessential protector, Clancy is the epitome of a "bad dog". He barks; he chews; he marks everywhere; he jumps; he digs; he nips; he chases the cats; he tears up and down the hallway with his toys; he steals the other dog's toys; he steals their food; he steals our food; he is a constant counter surfer; he eats furniture; he eats plants; he eats firewood (hot firewood); he sheds; you CANNOT trim his nails; you cannot walk him calmly on a leash; you cannot crate him; he has a textbook case of separation anxiety; he demands attention constantly; he has MAJOR sleep space aggression;, he has loud, snarly nightmares; he has the energy of ten Clancy's plus two (sorry Dr. Seuss). I sometimes think that he is the devil incarnate in a 50 pound English Setter-mix body.

Clancy was abandoned on a highway 2 years after Dakota came home to live with us, left with only a can of cat food and an empty tuna-fish can filled with water. He sat there, in the same spot, for 4 days waiting for his family to come back. They never did. Finally, an elderly neighbor who had been observing all this, took pity on him and called my boss, the local veterinarian/kind soul and she picked him up and brought him to the clinic where I work. We tried for 2 months to find his owners and then to find him a home. The longer he was in a crate at the clinic the worse his behavior became, the "E" word began to be mentioned. Who in their right mind would take this dog? Finally, I decided to bring him home on weekends to "socialize" him, hoping to train him just enough to find him a family.

Long time husband almost becomes ex-husband. A month goes by, Clancy gets WORSE. How is this possible? The "E" word is mentioned almost daily now. Finally, one day I am following Husband's vehicle in my own on the way back from a trip to the automobile service shop. Clancy is in the front seat of Husband's vehicle (we CANNOT leave this dog home alone, he eats WALLS) when I miss the turn onto the interstate. Husband pulls over on the highway and stops to wait for me. I turn around, get on the highway and follow him home. Husband is acting very strange, is petting Clancy with a weird look on his face. What happened? Finally, I get an answer. When he pulled over on the roadway, Clancy must have thought it was Act Two. He leaped into Husband's lap, shaking all over, whining, crying, licking his face, wrapped his paws around his neck and WOULD NOT LET GO. Clancy is staying.

Why do we keep him? He still has all of the same problems (although to a lesser degree). But he also lets 13 year old Odie beat him up, lying on the floor and making believe he is fighting with her, letting her pound on him and jump on him until she gets enough and walks away triumphant. He chases the cats but never catches them. He curls up next to me whenever husband isn't home and "protects" me from things that go bump in the night. He has the softest fur you could imagine and you could pet him for hours. He never, ever stops wagging his tail. When I come home from work he wags his whole body and brings me all of his toys. When I put him out to go "potty" he watches me the whole time to make sure I'm still there and then bounds up the stairs wildly wagging his tail as though he's surprised that I am. He has the most soulful eyes I've ever seen and I think that maybe he isn't the devil afterall, maybe he's just a goofy white angel who hasn't found his way yet. I do know, without a doubt, that this hard-luck dog loves me more than anything else in the world and I try very hard to deserve him.

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