A Bitch Named Indi

To some, a dog is their life. Their faithful companion and fur baby. To others they are a means of therapy. And to some, they are a huge pain in the ass. For me, Indi is as much of a mixed up mutt as she is my faithful companion, therapy, and an overwhelmingly needy bitch.

If you’re a father, I’m sure this story will be relatable. Remember that time your wife and kids convinced you the family needed a dog? Your first thought was, “Like hell we do! Hockey season is six months long! Who’s going to take care of a dog when we are gone ALL THE TIME? What about vacations? Then there’s baseball and softball in the summer. I don’t want to bring a dog to that and not be able to focus on the games!” Then one day, after that seed had been planted and the initial logic wore off, you wondered what it would be like to have one of those happy little furballs in your life again.

Needless to say, much like you may have, I caved in. My wife and kids had gone at least twice to look at these supermutt puppies our friends were selling before I reluctantly agreed to come. They had shown me plenty of photos of the litter. They were a mix of German Shepherd, Husky, Norwegian Elkhound, Australian Shepherd, Sheltie, and one other I forget. Border Collie…maybe. Each one was unique. I couldn’t believe they were all from the same litter.

My wife and oldest son wanted one that looked like a shaggy Border Collie—complete with one blue and one brown eye. He was beautiful. I’ll admit I’ve always been partial to male dogs. From my experience they are more concerned about pleasing their owners than your typical selfish female dogs.

My daughter had wanted the calmest and sweetest one of the litter. She had wiry brown hair and markings on her face similar to that of a German Shepherd. My youngest son…he wanted them all. Which one do you think ignored the pack and came directly to me and hopped in my lap when I sat down to watch my kids enjoy the chaos in front of me? It was the little pup my daughter wanted and I have to admit that I was absolutely smitten by her.

Over the course of the next two weeks we talked about the responsibilities of a puppy and how it would eventually become a dog. Everyone agreed to do their part. The challenge was choosing which pup. At first, my wife and I said we should just get both of them. Boy am I glad we did not do that. Once we came to our senses we decided to write Male and Female five times each on little slips of paper and mix them in a bowl. Each of us would pull one slip blind, and whichever word came up three times out of five would win. The tally went as follows:

Wife: Male Oldest son: Male Me: Female Daughter: Female

It was down to our youngest, but the suspense had to build because he hadn’t woken up yet. So, we waited and waited. Then he woke up, ate breakfast, and pulled Female out of the bowl.

My oldest really wanted that shaggy black and white dog. He cried and was furious we were getting the girl dog. He said, “I’m not doing anything for that dog and you guys know that she (his sister) won’t help out either. If we get the boy dog I will help out as much as I can with him and you know she won’t help with either.”

Well, son, you were right about your sister. But not about yourself—you and your brother helped a ton with Indi. Your sister, she didn’t help for a long time, but eventually she came around.

I’ll admit Indi and I had our ups and downs. Especially towards the end of that first year. There were numerous times when I thought she would be better off with a different family. However, every time I felt that way she did something to amaze me. Potty training with her was a breeze. She caught on and was ringing the bells we hung from the door within four days. She learned tricks within days, sometimes within minutes. She calmed down a lot towards the end of her obedience classes. The most recent, was when she brought a ball to me and insisted we play fetch when we were alone at the dog park. I had never taught her this. In fact, she had never shown interest when I had tried, so I sort of gave up. Then she just did it.

The part of her that has me curious is how gentle and caring she is towards everyone. She is the most hyper social dog I have ever met, but this has been a great thing for me. I talk to people when I meet them through her. She has opened me up from a closed off state I never thought I would get out of.

Along with this gentle side of her, she has a massive prey drive. I had never seen her become aggressive towards another dog until, one day, she caught wind of a mole at the dog park. She was hot on the trail and started digging. Other dogs noticed and came near her, but she put them in their place with snarls, growls, and the flashing of her teeth…and they listened to her. It was her goddamn prize and no one was taking it from her. She dug that ugly little thing up and killed it. Then she brought it to me. I thanked her and promptly threw it over the fence after two hippies grabbed their dog and left saying, “That dog needs to be put down.” I’m sure those two meant well, but they have no idea what a dog is.

Since then she has been flushing rabbits and running squirrels up trees. I am willing to bet she would flush pheasants as well. The one kicker is that she does not like water, so I don’t think I’ll have any waterfowl opportunities with her.

I have never been much of a hunter. With his grandfather, my oldest son has shot more deer than I ever have. I’m actually really proud of him. But, I sure as hell plan on hunting now. At least small game for awhile. I’ve looked back on my time with Indi and she continuously shows me signs that I need to get outside more often and enjoy it with her, nature, and my family. It might sound crazy, but I can’t help but think she was a gift from my spirit guides.

I’ve been going through big life changes lately and it seems like I’ve been ignoring a change I’ve needed to make that has been sitting right in front of me for awhile. One that will make me an even better person for myself and my family. It all comes with her. She has been a part of countless hikes, walks, and runs which have fully cleared my chaotic mind. They have helped me to slow down and see something worth taking a photo of again. Experiences worth writing about.

Our paths somehow crossed despite my own massive reluctance—with a bit of luck—but Indi has forever changed me. Her energy continues to bring me closer to my family. She continues to help me on this creative spiritual journey I’ve been on.

If there is a creature in your life you often view as a pest or a pain in the ass, I want you to take a step back and analyze life since their arrival. Don’t only focus on the good, but also on the repetitive events. Those are the signs that animal is trying to show you in their own beautiful way. It’s not enough to just look. You have to look with intention and attention.