escapades of geronimo, part 1

suzanne brought geronimo home the thursday before christmas. from what we know, geronimo had been a "pound dog" - he was transferred to the spca where she got him from another pound. i have a feeling he's spent the better part of his life in pounds. i think he was just too much for anyone to handle. and i think that's what's made me, the rebel, all the more determined to keep him! (a friend at church compared me to the apostle simon the zealot--but that's a whole'nother blog post....!)


(he has long since eaten the sleeping bag along with several sheets & blankets that were given to him for his "bed"! he doesn't use bedding anymore!!!! i'm so glad we didn't buy an expensive pet bed!!!)

the 1st thing geronimo did when he came in the house was BOUNCE all over checkin' it all out. which was fine. it was a new place for him, he needed to check it out. 5 minutes into his visit, he walked over to the christmas tree & pee'd on it! and on all the christmas presents under it!!!!! luckily, there were only a few............1 for my best friend joyce and 8 cute little bags i made for my sunday school class. everything had to be re-wrapped! i had to make 8 more cute little bags!!!! i washed the tree & tub it was in with vinegar water & put no gifts under the tree. a couple days later he did it again! out went the tree skirt & out came more vinegar! he did eventually stop pee'ing on the tree (i think -- i hope!!!!)

that night suzanne & her friend benita didn't sleep because geronimo wouldn't let them. he wouldn't lay down or even sit down, he was like a pinball! friday 1st thing on our agenda was to go get a crate! didn't have too much trouble getting him into it & he stayed in it all that night with no problems. funny thing tho ----- we had the crate in the living room. suzanne was gone & i needed to run to walmart for something before my cousin came over. i'm in walmart for 5 minutes & i get a phone call. i looked at my phone & it was an 800 #. normally i wouldn't have answered, but i'm glad i did this time!!!!! it was my alarm company!!! they said the alarm went off because of the motion detector and they wanted to know if anyone was home. i said, "no, i'm at walmar...............oh my goodness! it must be the dog!" the lady said, "you have a dog? there's nothing in your file about a dog." i said, "yes, my daughter came home from school with a dog; it's in a crate in the living room & i completely forgot about the motion detector & i set the alarm when i left!" the lady said, "well, if you're sure that's what it is, we won't sent a cop out to check, but you'd better move the crate to another room!!!!"

saturday we were having christmas over at grandma & pa pa's house. suzanne left for their house at 10 am. i left at 11. geronimo had been outside, fed, outside again & put in his crate when i left. suzanne went shopping with her dad that evening. i got home at 7pm. when i walked into the dark house, i was met at the garage/laundry room door by the dog! the dog who had been locked in his crate when i left. i said, "well, how did you get out?!"

and then i turned on the light.

the house looked like it had been ransacked by burglars!!!! burglars who pooped all over the place! burglars who ate everything they could get their paws on!! burglars who ate books & knocked things off window sills & counters & tables! burglars who beat & pounded on the walls of the crate til they just knocked a wall down!! it was a wire crate & the sides were held together by clips. i guess for the "normal" dog, these would hold. NOT FOR THIS DOG!!!! HE'S NOT NORMAL!!!!!

there used to be greenery/garland & decorations on that windowsill/window seat in the dining room

yes, that's dog poop! don't act like you've never seen it before!!!! i've spared you the rest of it!!!!

this used to be a stuffed dog i had made our of one of my mom's old chenille bedspreads. i had made each of the kids one as a keepsake. he ATE the dog. luckily he decided not to eat the bear!!!

these pictures don't even show 1/2 the "damage"!!!
for about 15 minutes (after i sent him to the back yard), i just stood there looking at the mess. he had pooped & pee'd on the rug in front of the couch. he had tracked it all over the tile floor (thank goodness i have tile floors!!!) i called suzanne & said, "i just got home, where are you?" she said, "shopping at target!" i said, "maybe you should cut your shopping trip short & come home." she said, "IS GERONIMO OK?" i said, "geronimo's ok, the house is not."

IT TOOK ME 3 HOURS TO CLEAN THE PLACE UP!!!!!

that includes putting the crate back together with about 52 hundred zip ties!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there's no way he's gonna knock those walls down & get out again!!!!!!!

i just rolled up the rug & threw it in the trash -- there was no way i was gonna leave that there for him to think that was his potty-ing spot. i had to throw a bunch of other stuff away -- that was just the beginning of my "simplifying" things around the place!!! over the next few days/weeks, things were taken off counters, tables, windows, walls; furniture was rearranged & pushed up against the walls so he couldn't run a racetrack behind them. the knobs were taken off the stove because he would turn on the gas!!!! people would come over & ask if i was moving because all the "pretties" were gone & the place looked bare!!!!!

AND HE'D ONLY BEEN HERE 2 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


"why am i outside? am i in trouble?"