Pet Tales

We have been asking readers to send us interesting stories about their pets through our Internet site. You don’t have to register and you can even include a picture. This story was sent to us by “Cathe.” Shortly after closing on our house in the Village of Warwick my husband and I were browsing at The Old Crow Antiques. Our conversation with the owner led us to a rescued Weimaraner at the Warwick Humane Society. We went the next day and fell in love with Misty, a scrawny 9 month old. Although we had wanted a “Weimy” for some 30 years, we never had a yard, or we were moving to another state, or the apartment building forbade pets, or we didn’t have a fence, or .... In Warwick, we thankfully ran out of reasons. We went thru the adoption screening process and I picked up Misty two weeks later on a Thursday morning. All was fine until she followed me up the stairs. And refused to come back down. For hours I tried to convince her she would be alright; she and the stairs were safe. Coaxing was useless, a dog bone waved in front of her nose was ignored. My husband would not be back for two days. At 50 pounds she was too heavy for me to carry down a flight of stairs. I knew no one in my new town. It was getting dark. How long before she would have to “go potty”? Then I remembered my real estate agent. Jane Reilly of Regal Homes arrived in minutes, and after some minor barking, we placed dog biscuits on every other step. As Jane crouched and cooed at the bottom of the staircase with a large piece of cheese, I sat on step after step, side by side as Misty and I made our way down one step at a time. She never had trouble after that, though she took it slowly. Now, three years later she bolts down the steps. But it took three years to attempt the basement steps - two weeks ago.