I’ll never forget getting that call. We had adopted Brickle from the shelter just a month prior. We already had a trip scheduled, and we decided to leave Brickle with a friend. He was approximately 7-8 months old. But he was a big boy. And already, his personality was big too.
But I didn’t give any second thoughts to leaving him with my friend. I was new at this animal rescue idea. And when she told me that her very young relatives would be visiting, I also didn’t give any second thoughts. But little did I know that Brickle, even at that young age was not a fan of children. And when I got that call as we were over a thousand miles away, I heard the words for the first, but definitely not the last time. “I don’t know about this dog.” Yes. Brickle had growled at the kids. And scratched them. He was kept away from them for the rest of our trip. But never again did I put him or anyone else in that position.
He did not like kids. He was a large dog. He deserved to be respected for his boundaries. And kids deserved to be protected. I learned very quickly after that just how much he wanted to be left alone in many situations. And although I always felt bad at campgrounds or when hiking when children wanted to pet him, I said no. I had to.
Brickle was also protective of women. I learned when he growled at my husband for getting near me, or my father, any male, that he believed his job was to protect. Especially if he was approached when sitting down. There were many people at campgrounds who wandered into our campsite that said those words too. “I don’t know about this dog.”
I know when Brickle got me into animal rescue that I had no clue. No clue that some dogs didn’t want to be handled. Or that they could be hurtful to someone else, meaning to or not. I had no clue that not all dogs were cuddly. Or that not all dogs wanted to be picked up. I got the dog I should have adopted. To teach me these things. To be the hardest dog I have ever had the absolute privilege of knowing. To say that I miss him is just a ridiculous statement. I live for the day when I’ll see him again.
Did Brickle change with age? No. No. No. When my own mother was saying goodbye to him as we left for Europe, she reached her hand jn the car. Nope. He didn’t like anyone getting in his space when he was in the car. He growled at her. And as she yanked her hand back, she said, “that’s him. I wouldn’t have wanted him to say goodbye any other way.”
Whether we know it or not, the dogs we have in our lives are who we should have in our lives. To make our lives better while helping us to be more patient and loving to people too. People may not have understood Brickle. And I won’t say that I did fully either. But I know that every dog deserves for their limitations and boundaries to be respected. Putting our dogs into situations that we know they will fail at is foolish. Trying to make it appear like they are perfect to others is foolish. It could mean their life. Or someone else.
By the way, if you were one of the many who wandered into our campsite or knocked on pie door and met Brickle, sorry about that. 🙂
-Rachael
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