Playing the Devils Advocate, otherwise known of trying to make sense of something that makes no sense: There are moments when I am all alone and am able to think back over the events that lead to the moment in time where I am now, without Henry. I ask myself What if I were in her shoes? I try to imagine what thought process she undertook to arrive at the conclusion that I gave her Henry. I have read and reread the message from Facebook in early April where she declared I will watch him until you get back on your feet That statement seems blunt and to the point. The conversation that followed never detours from that line of thinking and her words are gentle and reassuring and claim understanding at my situation. I replay the conversation we had the day I dropped Henry off at her house, I was embarrassed and ashamed at the decision I had made to return the Aussie pups to her. It took courage for me to admit that I did not have it in me to provide them with the home I felt they both needed and deserved. I believed I had their best interest at heart when I refused any return of the money I had paid for the puppies. I also believed that she was, in some way, being paid to take care of Henry. I provided the food, the toys, the treats, the leash, his collar and harness and all of his brushes to make it easy on her. I gave her all of the supplies I had bought for the pups, including the food container, leashes, collars, toys, blankets and the like. I bought extra food to send off with them when she rehomed them as she clearly stated she intended to do. I have often been told I am a dog fanatic, that I treat my dogs better than many people treat their children. I recall once when my daughter was younger and feeling frustrated and acting out as some children do, she looked at me and declared You love your dogs more than you love me! That statement was not true, but I will say that I have loved my dogs as I have my daughter. I am sure there are people who will find fault with my thinking, but let me tell you this, when I love, it is with all my heart and soul! IF I tell you I love you, then I LOVE YOU! I do not use that four letter word lightly and I have deep beliefs about what is involved in loving someone, whether it be my child or my pet. I can use words like commitment, loyalty, care, compassion, caretaking, those are the actions that go along with loving, at least to me. Those few hours spent at Shonnas house that day did not really reassure me. In fact there were what I might call red flags Her own dogs were in the garage, behind closed doors. This was where they had been each and every time I had been to her home previously. In touring her home there was no signs of dogs, no toys lying about, (despite the fact that one puppy of her own was 7 months old at the time) no dog beds, not even the food containers like I had brought with me. I did ask about this. I asked if she was going to have a problem with Henry being in the house. She reassured me that it was no problem. She offered an explanation that her Shepherd was in the garage because he was old and not nice. That statement, brought on a round of questions from me about the safety of both the pups and Henry. In fact she admitted that her mini aussie pup had recently been attacked by one of her dogs and so she would not let them interact. Shonna worked hard to alleviate my fears and concerns. She had all the answers. Beginning the following day and continuing for several days afterwards, I called her and inquired how Henry was doing. She continued to be polite and sincere and reassuring. She told me wonderful stories about the adventures Henry was having and I was relieved that the red flags that had been in my mind the day I dropped him off seemed nothing more than owner anxiety over leaving my boy. So, at what point did Shonna decide she was not going to return Henry? According to Dale Conard, her ex-father-in-law, she contacted him on May 1st or 2nd and told him to come over and See this dog that looks just like your old dog Rags(or Rugs...I never could get that name right) He reported he did so and that she offered him Henry that same day. He explained that he refused Henry, telling her he was 75 years old and he did not need another dog out at his farm. There are records from Dr. Evans that say she saw Henry on May 1st as well. So if these reports are true, what was Shonna thinking and planning? She never, EVER, asked me if I would give him up. During phone conversations she did twice tell me that if I ever was looking to rehome him like I was doing with the pups she could offer him a great home. I told her then that there were four conditions to rehoming a dog that I believed must be met, this was based on my previous fostering of dogs. I told her she did not meet three of the four. She changed the conversation and did not mention it again until we met on May 11th. That day she showed me a photo of Henry in a field of grass with two other Pyres. She told me that Henry had some new girlfriends. She went on to say that these two dogs were the dogs of a Cook and she said that this woman was related to THE COOKS (In Bloomington there is a business called Cook Medical and it is owned by the Cook family) I asked her if she meant THE COOKS of Cook medical and she said yes. She told me that her son was trying to start a business and that Henry was helping him to get in good with the Cooks She told me that Mrs. Cook had fallen in love with Henry and would be glad to offer him the best of homes if I would consider giving him to them. I told her in no certain terms absolutely not and it was at this point that I was very uncomfortable and I admit I did tell her Shonna it would be one thing to give him to you, because I would know where he was, but I would not give him to someone I did not know and besides it was never my intent to give him up. You offered to help me by keeping him for me for about 30 days. That was all I wanted, if it is a problem I can take him back now. She back stepped and immediately changed directions with her conversation and said, No, No, I was just joking, I was just telling you how Henry helped my son make a good impression. That afternoon we also had a bit of a heated discussion as well. She admitted to me that she was walking Henry to visit her mother, who lived three or four houses down the street and across the 4 lane highway, without a leash. I was not gentle when I said Absolutely under no circumstance is she to walk Henry off leash. He has been a notorious runner. My email name came from him, wanderingk9@yahoo. There was a time when he could even jump my fence and run the neighborhood. I explained and then reminded her she lived on a four lane highway that was very busy. She told me she did not believe in leashes and I said well for my dog you must use one, believing or not. I bought a large bag of dog food that day and loaded it into her Geo Tracker. While doing so I noticed she had the dark blue sheet I had given her to cover he seats on the seat. I also noticed that on that sheet was no traces of white hair. I thought then, that was odd, my car covers always have hair, and I do not know many Pyre owners who do not have white hair in their car. I remember thinking, If she is taking Henry to the farm every day, why is the sheet so clean. So I said, Wow, you must work hard to keep your Tracker clean, there is no hair in it She laughed and told me she had just vacuumed it. I let her explain away my concerns, more than once. So what was she thinking this entire time? Did she believe that if she put enough pressure on me I would bend to her offer to rehome Henry and assuming that she could convince me she did so before being sure? Was it her intent from the beginning, to take Henry under the guise of doing a friend a favor and then believing I would simply give up when she refused to return him? What makes someone think and act like this? What makes someone taunt someone with Your dog is dead or You are a homeless person who does not deserve a dog? What makes someone lie and testify under oath that you threatened then and that they are afraid of you when that never happened, and in fact, when on facebook it was Shonna who posted that she was going to put her shit kickers on and stomp me. I have tried to get in her head so to speak, but it is just beyond me to think like that. I am a dog lover, I am talented when it comes to training and caring for dogs, (and horses) but I would never believe that it is my right to take someones pet and declare them less than capable. I am not trained for that, and I am not an animal control officer or a skilled professional with the title to do such a thing. What makes her think she could? I also pondered this, lets say she believed I was not able to care for Henry and she believed she would convince me of such. So she took it upon herself to rehome him. Why then when she saw that I refused and that I countered her claim, that I was not homeless and that I came to collect Henry 28 days later as I had indicated, did she not say, Okay I made a mistake, I need to make this right and return Henry to Jen?? I have recently made contact with a woman who placed an ad for a temporary home for her cat of 12 years. She was pregnant and wheelchair bound. She had explained in the ad and to the responder that she was only looking for a temporary care giver and she wanted the cat back after she delivered her child. This woman alleges that the caregiver took possession of the cat, Oscar, in January of 2014. She kept in touch with the caregiver, asking for photos, updates. They rarely came and in fact only two photos were sent to her. In July of 2014 she contacted the caregiver to collect her cat, Oscar. The caregiver refused. The caregiver told her she was attached to the cat and it had been too long. According to this woman, she alleges that the caregiver was Shonna. I have asked her to join this group, and I have asked her to tell her story, to put it in writing and to testify in court with me. I am hoping she agrees. In the mean time I have decided I may never understand Shonnas thinking and frankly the more I learn about Shonna the more I am certain I do not want to understand her!
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 02:16:36 +0000
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