When we last left off, Casey had just helped me impress Stef's (my future wife) family and friends. Stef is still in shock about the performance I put on when going to Ohio, and I couldn't have done it without Casey The Dog. This led to a big 2012 for Casey, and especially my relationship with Casey.
Stef and I moved in together (before marriage, because we are sinners) in February of 2012. The house we rented in Bettendorf, Iowa had to have been Casey's favorite house. She had a big fenced in backyard, and she would just go up an down the stairs chasing her ball. In the video, she isn't chasing anything as she is just wearing herself out as she carries her Superman toy up and down the stairs. She is most likely doing this because she heard a loud noise and is desperately trying to get inside. I, of course, filmed her running from door to door because it was hilarious.
When it came to this dog, I had one goal: Exhaust the shit out of her. The picture above is a victory for me. Rarely, she would do it herself and just run up and down the stairs. A lot of times it would involve me throwing the ball off the deck and her charging down the stairs, grabbing it, and sprinting back up. Our most special place was a school field that nobody was ever at, and we would both run around. She would chase her ball; she would chase me. If she saw a squirrel, she would chase that too. That school field is probably one of her favorite places ever, because she had enough room to run around freely, and she had the energy to run until my arm got tired. I don't have any pictures which is kind of a shame, but maybe it's good. Our time at that field is perfect in my memories, and I don't think an image could capture that.
Remember how Casey was originally built like a sausage and commonly referred to as a chooch? Nuh uh, not under my watch. I got that body looking TIGHT. I may have had a sore shoulder from throwing the ball, but Casey's waist was small and her curves were kickin'. She dropped about 20 pounds, which was about a quarter of her weight from the Joe workout plan. It was mutually beneficial.
When Stef and I moved in together, we got a new sectional couch. Since it was new, I decided to implement the rule that Casey The Dog would not be allowed on the couch. This was a stupid rule, and looking back, I was more playing the role of dog owner since dog owners have control and boundaries over their dog. I should have just been me, but it didn't take long for her to break me. All she wanted to do was get on that couch, but she knew I wouldn't let her, so one day as I was watching TV, she just sat in front of me and stared with the saddest eyes the world has ever seen. I tried to ignore her, but those eyes stared right through me. I couldn't watch TV so I was just sitting on my couch feeling guilty. It took a few minutes before I finally decided, "Aw, fuck it," and told her she could come up. She immediately hopped up and snuggled right beside me. All she wanted was to be close to me, and I'm glad she broke me as quickly as she did.
I am posting this picture to show Casey and my's love for each other. I want to do that, because the next story makes me seem like a monster, but as the picture shows, she had love in her eyes as I gently caress her head. Along with not wanting her on the couch, I also didn't want her sleeping on the bed. She was terrible at sleeping on the bed. She loved to steal covers, she would get up and plop down on you in the middle of the night, and she wasn't the most peaceful sleeper. It made total logical sense to not have this dog on the bed, and I am a man who uses logic to a fault at times. But this dog needed to have that close human contact so she always insisted on being close to us and trying to get up on the bed. So what to do?
Well, if you're a monster like me, you use her fear of loud noises to your advantage. This dog would flinch like you were shooting a gun at her anytime you fluffed out a trash bag. That noise was a nightmare to her. So I (and note, I'm shaking my head at myself as I write this) would have a trash bag next to the bed, and I would fluff it out to make a big loud noise and have her scurry off the bed. It was only a temporary solution as she would just wait for me to get tired, hop on the bed where I would do more to wake myself up by grabbing the trash bag than just letting her be. She always got her way, and eventually, my trash bag routine of loud noise with no actual pain ended up with her overcoming her fear of trash bags, and then she was fully on the bed for good. So, me being a monster was kind of a good thing? I know, it's a reach. Anyway, in the future, our bedtime routine would basically make a 180 as we just got weirder and weirder as time went on.
Yep, this became a norm as she slowly broke me on my policies, she got more and more comfortable. And sometimes she just NEEDED to casually lay on me. But I was there, and she was there, so our bond got stronger and stronger. At the beginning of 2012, I was trying to play the role of dog owner, but by the end, it was clear that the dog owned me. Our bond taught me a lot.
Like many, I was an incredibly selfish young person. I did what I wanted to do and looked for immediate short-term satisfaction, because that's all I really knew. Casey put an end to that. If she wanted attention, she was going to get attention. I'd feed her, play with her, and take her outside in the bitter cold. But sometimes, all she needed was a spot next to me to snuggle up. It taught me the value of just being there. It's not always about doing something for someone you love, it's just about being there for them when they need you the most.
Around Christmas of 2012, my wife had a family emergency. Things were unclear that night and the following morning so I went in to work, but about a half hour into my day, my wife said she was going to Ohio and asked me to come. The old me would have been reluctant to miss work on short notice and asked if I could meet her there in a few days. Looking back, I know that's bad, and it doesn't make me feel good to write that, but I was honestly a shithead back then. Instead, I told my boss that I had to go and that I should be back sometime after Christmas.
We drove out to Ohio with Casey in the back and finally made it to our destination, staying at an incredibly shitty hotel on the outskirts of town, but one that was dog friendly. I offered to go to the hospital with my wife, but she just wanted to be dropped off and would call when she wanted to be picked up. I would take Casey out to play or to a park during the day which was great for her to get energy out and great for me too since it gave me an excuse to get out of that hotel room. I didn't do anything grand for my wife. I dropped her off, picked her up, and forced her to eat even though she didn't have an appetite. That was it. But she thanked me for it. Because she didn't need a grand gesture, she just needed me and Casey to be there for her.
Christmas was just a holiday for me. It was enjoyed, but for my wife and her family it's very special. That was a tough Christmas. Incredibly, there was a near miraculous happy ending to the family emergency, but that wouldn't be known until much, much later. There aren't nearly the number of pictures that usually take place from that year, so this is the only one I could find of Casey, taken on Christmas morning.
That dog is a total goofball, but she needed to get her play time on, even if her ears looked ridiculous. More importantly, there she is. There, always there. It's not anything that stands out, but sometimes it's exactly what you need. It's something simple like that that shows she had a far greater impact on me than I could have possibly had on her. I am a better person, husband, and now father because of Casey The Dog.
No comments:
Post a Comment