Things Have Been Crazy! {Part 2}

We made it to New Hampshire on a Thursday evening. On Saturday my aunt was having her summer BBQ. This meant Ranger was going to get socialized real quick. Leading up to the BBQ I did a few things to prepare Ranger and myself for all the people that would want to pet him. There were a few people bringing little dogs, too. So I got Ranger a 25 foot lead made for dogs up to 90lbs, and we found a nice shady spot in the yard to use. Unfortunately, all this means Ranger would be pretty far away from everyone. And at the same time it ensured that there would not be a 65lb dog running full speed around the yard trying to play with kids or dogs. I had this horrible image of Ranger accidentally knocking somebody down and hurting them.

The party started Saturday afternoon, and in one's and two's people would walk over to Ranger to say hello. I would see them heading his way, and I would jump up and get there first, to help Ranger emotionally. He barked at everyone that got within 50 feet of him for the first couple hours but then he got the idea and instead of a mean "stay away!" bark it was more of a happy "Hi! I'm a dog! I like treats and butt scratches!" kind of bark. By the end of the night when people were getting ready to leave and went to say goodbye to Ranger, he was rolling over when he saw them coming for belly rubs, checking their hands for treats, wagging his tail a million miles an hour, and the only time he would bark was when they were walking away from him. Almost as if he was saying "Hey! We're friends! Come back and rub my belly!"

Sunday morning I woke up to take Ranger outside to potty and he looked at me like I was crazy... then he went back to sleep.

Over the next couple weeks ranger met more and more people, and experienced a lot of new things. He went to the groomer and then got to hang out in the garage while I got help fixing my truck. Poor dog... the groomer put a Care Bears bandana on him. I made him wear it for two days. Does that make me a mean mommy?

Then there was the night I broke my foot.

I was walking with Ranger through a dark back yard, holding him by the collar, and I stepping in the only hole in the yard. I went down, pulling Ranger with me. Poor Ranger. He thought he caused me to fall! He was crying and giving me kisses and trying to make me feel better. This all happened at 10 o'clock at night. I thought maybe I just jammed my foot and decided to wait it out until morning.

Every time i got up and tried to walk, Ranger would get in front of me and look straight up at me and whine deep in his throat, like he was saying sorry I hurt you mommy, but I'll catch you if you fall again! By 3:30am I was in extreme pain and I couldn't sleep, so I left Ranger with my friend and went to the hospital.

About 10am when I was leaving the hospital with a confirmed broken foot (broke it in 2 places!) and a cam boot I got a text. "Guess what we did?!"

They went for a ride. In this:

To give you an idea of how big this truck is... Ranger had to be picked up and put in the cab because he can run circles under the truck without ducking. And I can sit cross legged under the truck with clearance. It's not a monster truck, but it's close. The tires are 37" and there's a lift on it too.

So then I get another text. "Ranger doesn't like Sour Skittles." I'm in my truck driving back thinking oh jeeze he's feeding Ranger candy... And then I get a third text: "He doesn't like energy drinks either." And one final text: "We had hot dogs for breakfast." At least he tried to feed Ranger while I was gone with all Ranger's food in my truck.

Up Next: Things Have Been Crazy {Part III}