GUEST POST!
Gulliver is one of my favorite dogs in the world. And his people are my favorite people. They have worked so hard in conjunction with his veterinary team and his grooming team (that is, Amy) to get him through so much, not the least of which has been several anxiety issues. He is the best little dog, and I hope you love him as much as I do after reading about him.
The following is a letter Gulliver's Mom Jaime wrote to his former humans.
To Gulliver’s former humans:
May 29, 2017 will mark three years since we first met Gulliver. You abandoned him at NHS a couple days prior, with floor length hair matted down to the skin and a ThunderShirt which provided him no comfort. You cited a laundry list of reasons on the surrender paperwork for why you made the decision, along with some “helpful hints” for his future owners. I’ve had a lot to say to you for the last three years and I need to get it out of my system now.
I saw Gulliver on the NHS website and asked my boss to leave work early to meet him. I was in the midst of a two-year long bout with crippling depression and I thought a pet might help. My now-fiancé Ross gave me two stipulations: the pet had to be small and he didn’t want them to shed. Gulliver fit that mold, so I left work early on the afternoon of May 29, 2014 to go see him with Ross.
We waited patiently for a room and an adoption specialist to become available. When we got the room, I sat on the floor to await his arrival. He barreled into the room a few minutes later, jumped into my lap, and curled up in a ball to sleep the rest of the time we were speaking with the adoption specialist. She told us all of the horrible things you said about Gulliver: that he was aggressive with kids, that he refused to be potty trained, that he would jump over baby gates but go crazy if he was kenneled, that he refused to play with toys…the list went on and on.
I almost asked to see another dog. I asked Ross to tell me we couldn’t bring him home, and he refused. You almost talked me out of taking him home. But I looked down at the tiny little dog sleeping soundly in my lap, and I couldn’t let the adoption specialist take him back to the kennel. I told Ross we could do training classes with him if he needed them. I told him we could figure something out if he truly had behavioral issues. I felt that he picked me when he jumped into my lap that afternoon, so we took him home.
You knew he had anxiety issues because you sent him to NHS in a ThunderShirt. Did it ever occur to you to speak with a vet about it? Because that occurred to us right after we brought him home. He tried chasing us out the door every time one or both of us left. He only went potty in the apartment if he was left by himself at home. He lost two teeth trying to chew his way out of a kennel. He would randomly start convulsing. The first vet we saw said anxiety isn’t a thing with dogs and that we needed to keep kenneling him. That wasn’t good enough for us, so we took him to Dr. Finch. She believed that Gulliver needed treatment for anxiety and started him on two different meds.
He’s a completely different dog today. His panic attacks have stopped and he doesn’t try to chase us out the door anymore. He gets free roam of the apartment and he doesn’t touch anything that isn’t his. Squeaky toys litter our apartment because we determined you lied about him not playing with toys—did the squeaking bother you too much or something? Because that’s just something dogs do. And the most aggressive thing he has done to a child is stealing a piece of toast out of the hand of our friend’s toddler. He’s the light of our lives, and Ross even included him in the proposal a couple months ago. You almost talked me out of taking him home. I’m eternally grateful that I didn’t listen to you.
I’ve spent three years wanting to chew you out for failing to meet his needs, and for abandoning him without a second thought. Instead, as I write this today, I’m wanting to thank you for giving us the opportunity to give him a better life. We would jump through flaming hoops for that little guy. He shows us so much love and we give him the best life possible in return. We’re going to celebrate his adoption day by taking him for his beloved car ride to get ice cream. Thank you for giving up on him, because now he’s ours to dote on for the rest of his life.
Sincerely,
Gulliver’s new mom, Jaime
