Alex had occasionally asked for a dog over the years and as I learned more about oppositional defiance disorder (ODD) and ADHD, I leaned more and more towards wanting one myself. As a child, we’d had a dog and while we loved him, Atom Ant was a bit much for our family. He was a large hairy Briard sheepdog who could jump over almost any fence. And once free, he would run and run (not ant-like!) I looked up Briard sheepdogs online recently and wasn’t surprised by the comment that “novice owners might be overwhelmed by their work drive and zest for life” — which the Coloff family most certainly was. Briards were bred by the French as two-in-one dogs. They are both good herding dogs as well as guarding dogs. Who knew?
Emotional Therapy Dogs for People with ODD
Anyway, I started researching emotional therapy dogs especially those trained for people with ODD and found that they really didn’t exist. Trained therapy dogs are quite expensive and can be difficult to find. If you were willing to do the training yourself, there were a limited number of options in our area, but they did exist. So, I, too, started to work on Doug to consider getting a dog for Alex. Initially, he resisted. We already had a great cat, Marshmallow, and dogs and cats don’t always mix well. Undeterred, I bided my time until the summer of 2017. After our summer vacations were over, I told Doug I was just going to look at the Mt. Pleasant Animal Hospital to see what our options might be. Our friend Ken knew someone on the board of the shelter, and he occasionally volunteered for them. So, Ken and I went to the shelter to look at the dogs. It was difficult for me to see all these beautiful dogs in cages and seeing how long some of them had been there. As it turns out, Ken called my attention to Reid. He was super quiet and calm and just looked at us with his beautiful golden-brown eyes and Yoda-like ears perked open. I spoke to the shelter caretakers and one of them said Reid would be a great addition to our family — loved going on walks but could also chill just watching tv. Turns out he was right.
Set Yourself Up for Success – Be Prepared
The next evening, Doug and I took Alex to see Reid and we all agreed — he was the dog for us. Ken was the best and set us up for success by giving us everything a new dog owner would need — multiple leases, dog bowls, dog bed, treats, and of course, a supply of poop bags. Thankfully, Reid had passed the “cat test” at the shelter and after about two weeks, Marshmallow would actually enter the same room as Reid. Over time, they have become good companions for each other—sleeping together in the living room, Reid in his dog bed and Marshmallow within a few feet on the sofa. When we take Reid for a walk in the woods behind our home, Marshmallow tags along. Some nights, Reid wakes me up if hears a commotion outside that involves Marshmallow—his protector and best bud. As I mentioned, we had gotten Reid as a therapy-like dog for Alex but as it turns out, he was the best therapy for me. Whenever things got difficult with Alex, I would simply call Reid to go for a walk and out we’d go. All my anger, frustration, and sadness would melt away as he and I stomped through the woods or meandered on the trails. Reid always knows whenever anyone is upset and is quickly by their side asking for attention and love, especially me. Everyone remarks on how calm and quiet Reid is, but we know that when he spots a squirrel, chipmunk, or deer, he’s ready to give chase and gives the occasional bark to let us know. Reid has become my faithful companion at all of Alex’s football and baseball games as well as coming to work usually once a week to visit all his “office” friends. Dogs aren’t the pet for everyone, but I do believe that their unconditional love is. While we may have saved Reid from the shelter, he really saved me.
Support your local animal shelters and adopt a dog (or cat) today and you may find yourself wondering like me—who saved who.
Here are a couple of my favorite local shelters:
