Nine years ago today I stopped to keep a furry dog from darting into the road and to help him find his way home.
Little did I know his home was with me.
Unlike with DeDe, ours has not been an easy relationship. His size, his high activity level, and his breed have forced me to be proactive in ensuring he does nothing to create ill will with others. Complaints about a “dangerous dog” would certainly sign his death certificate, so the woman with the cocky swagger and smart mouth has been fearful and overly-cautious when it comes to Rumpy.
To be sure, Rumpy has suffered from my paranoia. Yet he always forgives me for my fears and my failures. A ruffle of his fur and a cookie make all right with the world for my sweet boy.
Rumpy continues to challenge me to reach beyond my comfort zone. It’s been good for me, but definitely not a path I would have chosen for myself.
As we both grow older, we come to terms with our aches and pains. June Buggie is 17 now. Rumpy was somewhere around 9 months old when we came together, so he’s close to 10. And me? Well, let’s just say she ain’t what she used to be.
I know our days together are numbered, and I remind myself of that each time he wants to stop and sniff for the twenty-eleventh time during the course of our walk.
Happy Gotcha Day Rumpy. It may be your special day, but the one who got the best gift of all was me.
Happy Gotcha Day to lovely Rumpy, and Blessing and Happiness to you ALL, you know I love you so much, Thank you, love, nia
Posted by niasunset | October 20, 2015, 4:06 AMThank you Nia! We love you too!
Posted by rumpydog | October 20, 2015, 6:32 AMHappy Gotcha Day dear Rumpy… it’s great that you found each other and I’m glad your Jen has the bestest Cookie-saurus and the bestest Rumparoni on her side :o)
Posted by easyweimaraner | October 20, 2015, 4:21 AMThere can only be one. RAWRRRRRRRR!!!!!!
Posted by rumpydog | October 20, 2015, 6:33 AMHow lucky Rumpy was that you cared enough to stop! Have a great 9th gotcha day together. Cookies all around! X
Posted by bumpyroadtobubba | October 20, 2015, 4:27 AMHe has more than repaid the debt!
Posted by rumpydog | October 20, 2015, 6:33 AMHappy Happy 9th Gotcha Day , Rumpy !
Cheers for many many more 🙂
Posted by Kjelle Bus aka Charlie Rascal | October 20, 2015, 4:47 AMThank you!!!!! woo woo woo!!!!!
Posted by rumpydog | October 20, 2015, 6:33 AMDear Rumpy, Happy Gotcha Day!!! You
and your family are very special to us! We are so lucky and happy to have met you! Have a lovely day with lots of cookies!!!
love from angel kevin, kitties and mom xoxo
Posted by eripanwkevin | October 20, 2015, 4:54 AMThank you!!!! Have a cookie on me!!!
Posted by rumpydog | October 20, 2015, 6:33 AMHappy Gotcha Day to all of you! It’s a tough call figuring out who got rescued here. You’re a great team. Enjoy your day! xoxo
Posted by Genevieve Petrillo | October 20, 2015, 5:02 AMYes we are! woo woo woooooooo!!!!!!!
Posted by rumpydog | October 20, 2015, 6:34 AMHappy day to you and yours, Rumpy!
Posted by Candace | October 20, 2015, 5:02 AMThank you!!!!!!! *dances*
Posted by rumpydog | October 20, 2015, 6:34 AMHappy gotcha day to Rumpy. I hope there are many more.
Posted by Charles Huss | October 20, 2015, 6:03 AMThank you! I hope there are too!!!!!!
Posted by rumpydog | October 20, 2015, 6:35 AMHappy gotcha day, dear Rumpy! And to Jen, too! Life is most certainly full of challenges, but what a blessing that you can conquer them together. 🙂
Hugs, and wishes for many more gotcha celebrations yet to come!
Posted by meowmeowmans | October 20, 2015, 6:47 AMHappy Gotcha Day Rumpy!!!
The Florida Furkids
Posted by The Florida Furkids | October 20, 2015, 6:50 AMThank you furry friends!!!!! woo woo woo!!!!
Posted by rumpydog | October 20, 2015, 7:02 AMLoving tribute!
>
Posted by Roy Sexton (Reel Roy Reviews) | October 20, 2015, 7:50 AMI love my dog!
Posted by rumpydog | October 20, 2015, 8:25 AMLife has ways of putting us together with the pups we need to challemge us the most..so we learn the most..Happy Gotcha Day Rumpy and Jen…everyone forgets to say that to the ‘Mum’ too 🙂
Posted by Fozziemum | October 20, 2015, 8:02 AMThanks from both of us!
Posted by rumpydog | October 20, 2015, 8:25 AM🙂
Posted by Fozziemum | October 21, 2015, 5:27 AMHappy Gotcha Day Rumpy! You sure landed in a great place and it looks like you love your kitty sisters.
Posted by harrispen | October 20, 2015, 8:34 AMThank you!!! We may not be the “perfect American” family, but we do alright for ourselves and for each other.
Posted by rumpydog | October 21, 2015, 10:36 AMHappy Gotcha Day Rumpy from all of us!
Posted by Brian | October 20, 2015, 8:36 AMThanks guys!!!
Posted by rumpydog | October 21, 2015, 10:37 AMHappy Gotcha Day Rumpy from your friends out west! ❤
Posted by The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap | October 20, 2015, 9:13 AMOne day we gotta meet! woo woo woo!
Posted by rumpydog | October 21, 2015, 10:37 AMHappy day dude!!
NukNuk & Family
Posted by Nanuk | October 20, 2015, 9:17 AMThank you!!!
Posted by rumpydog | October 21, 2015, 10:37 AMWOOOOOOHOOOOOWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ❤ ❤ ❤ Ku, Nalle, and Mamabear!
Posted by Julianne Victoria | October 20, 2015, 10:00 AMwoo woo wooooooo!!!!!
Posted by rumpydog | October 21, 2015, 10:37 AMRumpy and Jen, so glad you’ve got each other. The universe knew what it was doing when it crossed your paths 🙂
Posted by Saved by dogs | October 20, 2015, 11:53 AMMaybe, or maybe we just found ourselves in this predicament and used it to our advantage. Either way, we both win!
Posted by rumpydog | October 21, 2015, 10:38 AMBeautiful dog, beautiful person. And the cats are gorgeous too. Happy Gotcha Day to Rumpy and Jen!
Posted by Rhiannon Paine | October 20, 2015, 11:58 AMHappy Gotcha Day Rumpy. The world is a much better place with you in it.
Posted by BitcoDavid | October 20, 2015, 1:22 PMHappy Gotcha Day, Rumpy & family! Wishing you many, many more.
Posted by walksoftly | October 20, 2015, 2:10 PMHappy Gotcha Day, Rumpy!
Posted by jowensauthor | October 20, 2015, 4:25 PMHappy Gotcha Day, Rumpy & Mom!!! *ear licks* Noodle - P.S. You nearly made my Mom cry.
Posted by noodle4president | October 20, 2015, 4:38 PMI bet your mom has a similar story for you Noodles. We all have our emotion bonds to our companions.
Posted by rumpydog | October 21, 2015, 10:35 AMShe’s says you’re right 🙂
Posted by noodle4president | October 21, 2015, 7:09 PMHappy Gotcha Day, Rumpy!
Posted by The Island Cats | October 20, 2015, 6:14 PMYou’re absolutely right, Jen. But I look at from a different perspective. Yes, if a woman dares to get angry, her mental health is called into question. However, women do have the benefit of being able to display every other human emotion. On the other hand, anger is the only emotion men traditionally have been allowed to exhibit. But now, in this politically correct universe, men don’t even have that much. Should a man become angry – especially at a woman – he’s almost always branded a psychopath, pedophile, rapist, wife-beater, etc.
I believe we should stop categorizing human emotions and dictating which is appropriate for each gender to manifest. Everyone has a right to feel a certain way, and as long as no one else is harmed in the process, they shouldn’t have to consult a specific set of guidelines first.
Posted by Alejandro De La Garza | October 20, 2015, 8:39 PMI absolutely agree. Recently a trainee went with me to visit with a family and after we left, asked me if I had been afraid. I was confused why he asked me that. The trainee then explained that because the man was talking loudly and voicing his anger, he must be dangerous.
I used this as an impromptu lesson in how to tell when someone is dangerous versus when someone is angry. If someone is voicing anger but their anger dissipates as they talk, and their body language relaxes, then that is a person that needs to get something off their chest. However, if the person continues to get louder and more vocal and their body language more tense, or if they go inside and grab a shot gun, that person is dangerous.
I am fortunate in that I worked in prisons for several years. There I learned the art of effective communication, because if you’re going to stay in that job, you damn well better learn it. I had no weapon and often was alone, so I had to know how to talk to people and be able to read where they’re coming from. It was one of the best lessons I ever learned and it’s a damn shame no one tried to teach me that when I was a kid.
Posted by rumpydog | October 21, 2015, 10:29 AMHappy Gotcha Day!!!!!!
Posted by Emily @ Adventures of a Dog Mom | October 20, 2015, 9:29 PMHappy Gotcha Day!
Posted by Andrea Kenner | October 20, 2015, 9:30 PMOh Rumpkin! We hope you’ve had a happy fun-filled Gotcha Day! You’re still the sweet, funny, furry boy we first met a few years ago and we love you a lot. We’re thankful Jen stopped for you that day and that she could give you a furever home. We love that photo of you where Little Girl is pinning your leg to the floor, too. Love and loud purring from all of us…RainbowCatsx11 >^..^<
Posted by Annabelle Essert (@RainbowCatsx8) | October 20, 2015, 10:25 PMI have nominated your great blog for both awards; Blogger Recognition Award and One Lovely Blog Award. You can see the details at http://susanscreativewritingandpoetry.com/2015/10/20/such-a-blessing-being-nominated/
Posted by Susan Langer | October 20, 2015, 10:27 PMThank you!!! I am honored.
Posted by rumpydog | October 21, 2015, 10:41 AMEnjoy. You deserve it. 🙂
Posted by Susan Langer | October 21, 2015, 4:25 PMhappy gotcha day, Rumpy. in my opinion, people who rescue animals have a special place in Heaven, and i am sure that having both Rumpy and June Buggie in your life has made living a little more special for all concerned. i have a cat who is 18 and not in the best of health, he has hung on for 3 years now, and i say a special prayer every day that he is still here. animals enrich our lives and teach us lessons that we would not otherwise learn. ❤ your blog!!
Posted by cinnamon | October 20, 2015, 11:06 PMHappy Gotcha Day, Rumpy and Jen, from the four of us!
Posted by Mr. Bob Button, Winston Henry, Ms. Kathy and Bob's Poppa | October 21, 2015, 12:27 AMWhat a beautiful post .. Ah we are all getting older. Our pooch is now 11 and our kitty left us this year @ 19. Aren’t they just the best? 😄
Posted by Julie@frogpondfarm | October 21, 2015, 2:04 AMAlthough out of your comfort zone, guess you wouldn’t change a thing!
Posted by Animalcouriers | October 21, 2015, 2:31 AMI love this!!
Posted by elizabethcollie | October 22, 2015, 3:18 PMRumpy!! I am so sorry I missed this post! Happy Gotcha Day pal!!!!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Posted by Jenna,Mark “HuskyCrazed” Drady | October 26, 2015, 8:52 AMThank you!!!!
Posted by rumpydog | October 26, 2015, 9:25 AMI’m very very very! late in, but happy Gotcha Day! I think he’s been a huge furry beneficial part of your life.
Posted by heretherebespiders | December 13, 2015, 3:51 PM