Gidget McFidget

Welcome to Furry Friday!  Today, we celebrate Gidget McFidget.  She is my little heart-dog, and she features prominently in my memoir, “My Life in Dog Years.” 

It’s possible Gidget knew she was destined to become my heart dog from the day we first met in a crowded, noisy shelter.  During the summer of 2012, our animal rescue received a call from local animal control.  They captured a small breed dog running loose who behaved in an unmanageable and aggressive manner, and she had already bitten a couple people at the shelter.  She was scheduled to be euthanized unless a rescue stepped up to take her.

When she was pulled from the shelter, she went to another foster home, then was adopted for a brief while.  A few weeks later, our rescue group held a pet adoption event at a big-box pet store. The family who previously adopted Gidget showed up at the store to return her to the rescue, saying she was too crazy for their family.  Since I had an opening, I agreed to take Gidget home with me.

From the moment she arrived at our house, Gidget behaved like the perfect dog.  She never broke house training, or chewed up anything that was not explicitly a dog toy. She never hinted at the tiniest bit of aggression to any member of our family.  She glued herself to me, insisting on sleeping by my side from the first night. 

Whenever I took her outside of the house, Gidget became an entirely different dog.  At adoption events, she wanted to start fights with every other dog she saw.  This baffled me.  At home, she clung to our beagle, Annabelle Lee, like a lifesaver in a stormy sea.  She pushed up against Annabelle on the couch or in the dog bed like she was her furry pacifier.  Obviously, Gidget did not behave aggressively toward all dogs.

Due to her variable disposition, Gidget was dubbed “unadoptable.”  This was a bad label to have.  The only options were to return her to the shelter where they would euthanize her immediately or take her to the vet to have her put down in the arms of someone who loved her.   I refused either of those options and chose a third. 

“Let me adopt her,” I said.  “I will keep her controlled so she won’t bite people, and I will work with her on her behavior.” 

Thus, it came to pass that Gidget McFidget officially became my dog. 

August will be eleven years since she was rescued from the same shelter where we adopted Bruce Wayne last summer.  She is still a crazy, feisty old gal, even at her advanced age, but we love her more because of it.  And she still loves ripping up stuffed toys and boxes that come bearing gifts.