Friday, February 10, 2006
Grace Triumphant 020
March 17
The locksmith is coming today to change the locks and inspect our home security.
It was getting onto ten last night, and the children were in bed. I was just feeling that uneasy, over aware feeling I suffered the night before when a knock at the door almost made me jump out of my skin. But I looked through the kitchen window, and there was Terry! I pulled the door open, and sitting in front of me, on her lead, was Tahlia, with a cloth pouch of dog food hanging on a string from her mouth.
"Tahlia felt like a sleepover with you and the kids," Terry said. "And she brought her own food!"
"Come in! Come in!" I was so relieved. Terry came in, and I took the dog food. I invited her to use the guest room, but she told me that she has to fly out tomorrow for a three day visit to a seminar.
"I have somebody come in and walk the dog," she said. "But if you'd like to keep her for the three days, maybe that will be better for you and for her." Then she cautioned me: "Tahlia does need a lot of walks."
"Terry I don't know how to thank you!" I exclaimed. "Please sit down. Tell me how to take care of her."
There is a science to Anatolian shepherd dogs. They actually do comprehend a sort of formal introduction process and can work out who they should protect, who they should tolerate, and who is an intruder.
"They prefer to bark and drive off intruders," Terry said. "But if anything really were to attack something they protect, they would fight to the death." She patted Tahlia's head. "But they make decisions for themselves. They're really amazing dogs. A good Anatolian shepherd can actually figure out some situations and make decisions."
She showed me how to give commands to Tahlia using my voice, and then how to do the same things with hand signals. I have some lunch meat in the refrigerator to use for rewards for her, but I can get dog biscuits that she likes. Terry gave me the exact brand and flavor, as Tahlia is smart enough to know when she's getting substandard stuff.
And Terry cautioned me that I would have to be assertive with Tahlia, always in control of myself and the situation. Guard dogs, even exceptionally gentle ones like the Anatolian shepherds, need a hierarchy. If they don't recognize anybody at the top of the hierarchy, they will claim the top spot. It's just part of the same instinct in them to protect.
So we went through some commands and praise of Tahlia, and she got the idea. I don't think we "bonded" in the way that Terry and Tahlia bonded. But Tahlia is used to Terry leaving her in the care of others for a few days on occasion. And she understood that she was being passed into my care. We're already acquaintances, and she's always been good with the children.
Last night I had my first real night of sleep. I woke up once or twice as Tahlia got up from alongside my bed to go patrol the house, just as Terry said she would. In the morning, I went to Ben's room first and woke him up. I told him about the dog and told him not to squeal or jump up and down around her until she felt comfortable with him. I explained to him that she's actually a working dog, and even though she's beautiful and can be a lot of fun, we have to let her be a working dog. He agreed and came at once to be formally introduced. But Tahlia greeted him with polite tail wagging and a lick.
Then I woke Rachel and did the same thing. Tahlia accepted her the same way.
I've dropped the children at school, and Tahlia and I are scheduled for our first walk. I can see that she's ready to go. The house really is too confining for her. Me too!
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You are a hypocrite writing about all this love and tears and sorrow for your children. What about Johnny Mack and all the harm you have done to him by reporting of abuses at his church that you have never proved. That court case that put Deacon Hardchild in jail should have been tossed out on appeal. And there is no evidence that Preacher Mack was having an affair with a deacon's wife, but now you know all about affairs. You drove off your husband, you frigid femi-nazi.
Don't preach to me about this turn the other cheek stuff. I've tried this Rodney King "Let's get along thing" but it doesn't work so I AM NOT trying it again. God is punishing you for your vile blogs and journals, and I want a front row seat. I've never seen anybody who would dare find men of God like Johnny Mack, Marky Schemer, and me to be funny.
Well, the joke's on you. The she-bears have found you. Grace Jovian, you are vile.
Pastor John Wally Johnson
Clarksville Independent Fundamental Baptist Temple
Clarksville Ohio.
The locksmith is coming today to change the locks and inspect our home security.
It was getting onto ten last night, and the children were in bed. I was just feeling that uneasy, over aware feeling I suffered the night before when a knock at the door almost made me jump out of my skin. But I looked through the kitchen window, and there was Terry! I pulled the door open, and sitting in front of me, on her lead, was Tahlia, with a cloth pouch of dog food hanging on a string from her mouth.
"Tahlia felt like a sleepover with you and the kids," Terry said. "And she brought her own food!"
"Come in! Come in!" I was so relieved. Terry came in, and I took the dog food. I invited her to use the guest room, but she told me that she has to fly out tomorrow for a three day visit to a seminar.
"I have somebody come in and walk the dog," she said. "But if you'd like to keep her for the three days, maybe that will be better for you and for her." Then she cautioned me: "Tahlia does need a lot of walks."
"Terry I don't know how to thank you!" I exclaimed. "Please sit down. Tell me how to take care of her."
There is a science to Anatolian shepherd dogs. They actually do comprehend a sort of formal introduction process and can work out who they should protect, who they should tolerate, and who is an intruder.
"They prefer to bark and drive off intruders," Terry said. "But if anything really were to attack something they protect, they would fight to the death." She patted Tahlia's head. "But they make decisions for themselves. They're really amazing dogs. A good Anatolian shepherd can actually figure out some situations and make decisions."
She showed me how to give commands to Tahlia using my voice, and then how to do the same things with hand signals. I have some lunch meat in the refrigerator to use for rewards for her, but I can get dog biscuits that she likes. Terry gave me the exact brand and flavor, as Tahlia is smart enough to know when she's getting substandard stuff.
And Terry cautioned me that I would have to be assertive with Tahlia, always in control of myself and the situation. Guard dogs, even exceptionally gentle ones like the Anatolian shepherds, need a hierarchy. If they don't recognize anybody at the top of the hierarchy, they will claim the top spot. It's just part of the same instinct in them to protect.
So we went through some commands and praise of Tahlia, and she got the idea. I don't think we "bonded" in the way that Terry and Tahlia bonded. But Tahlia is used to Terry leaving her in the care of others for a few days on occasion. And she understood that she was being passed into my care. We're already acquaintances, and she's always been good with the children.
Last night I had my first real night of sleep. I woke up once or twice as Tahlia got up from alongside my bed to go patrol the house, just as Terry said she would. In the morning, I went to Ben's room first and woke him up. I told him about the dog and told him not to squeal or jump up and down around her until she felt comfortable with him. I explained to him that she's actually a working dog, and even though she's beautiful and can be a lot of fun, we have to let her be a working dog. He agreed and came at once to be formally introduced. But Tahlia greeted him with polite tail wagging and a lick.
Then I woke Rachel and did the same thing. Tahlia accepted her the same way.
I've dropped the children at school, and Tahlia and I are scheduled for our first walk. I can see that she's ready to go. The house really is too confining for her. Me too!
