Ellie B’s big homecoming

/ June 30, 2015
Let us have our dog back, please and thank you.

Let us have our dog back, please and thank you.

For that day trip to see the New York Mets play the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field on Saturday, my dear wife Karen and I had to drop Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle off at the Shop City Animal Hospital before we picked up Steve and Kristen to start the journey.

And they don’t staff the front desk on Sunday.

I hate that part of it. Even though we were home in the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood all day Sunday, our dog had to stay put.

I pulled up at 8 sharp Monday morning, wanting to see our beloved rescue mutt.

No sticker shock on this sign in desk.
Empty area at the opening bell.

Click on a gallery photo for a description. Click on the right photo for an enlarged slide show.

There was no wait involved. They asked me my business. I wasn’t sniffing around or marking my territory, just taking a photo or two with my iPhone 6.

Ah, yes, we’ll bring Ellie right out, the very nice receptionist said, going to the back.

I stationed myself with my phone in the corridor where Ellie B would appear.

Oh, she's calm.

Oh, she’s calm.

My dog took one look at me from a far and …

There's my da!

There’s my da!

… practically pulled the nice receptionist over in her haste to greet me after the two long days we’d spent away from each other.

At home, it was a short but happy greeting with my dear wife Karen before she had to depart for a Monday morning at SMG.

Still wound up.

Still wound up.

It took a bit for the dog to fully relax. Even after some backyard time,
Ellie B panted on the couch.

Feeling at home again.

Feeling at home again.

All of a sudden, Dogamous Pyle jumped down, entered her crate, relaxed, and looked at home again.

Where do you board your animals for a short trip? Does it take your pet a while to relax when they get back home? How can you tell when your pet feels comfortable?

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57 thoughts on “Ellie B’s big homecoming”

  1. Oh, that Ellie is so sweet! I hope the receptionist doesn’t sue you for where her arm got ripped out of the socket! 😉 Why couldn’t Elisabeth and 3, or Good Neighbor Tim watch her? Poor Ellie. I’m glad she’s home with her parents where she belongs. 😀

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  2. Prior to this vacation, I’d never been away from my dog! It was kinda traumatic for me. Every day I missed her, especially when I saw other dogs. Sadie could have gone with us, but for all the times in between when it was too hot to leave her in the car, we’d need to take turns at rest stops and could have only eaten fast foods on the road — but what kind of dog would wanna spend days locked up in a hotel room?!? I heard some of those dogs. 😦
    We hired a housesitter and it worked out very well. It cut some work out of the planning and saved us some worry. We paid the housesitter just a bit more than we would have paid for boarding Sadie, but the housesitter also gets mail and tends cats and lets burglars know your house isn’t empty, so well worth it. No risk of kennel cough, either 😉 I do believe Sadie had a good time, but I know she missed us, because we were all covered in puppy kisses upon arrival. Oh that was the best! Reunion!
    My FIL has taken her when we take long day trips, but he had to go out of town this week, too. Even still, I wouldn’t hesitate to ask him and if not, I’d use a housesitter again fersure! I trust my vet, but I know this was the right choice this time.

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  5. I dog sit… and the puppies and pooches love Aunt Nancy… they are on Vacation too when they come to my place. They really don’t mind visiting for a while.
    I do know when a dog is comfy… their ears are not in the back of their head… the panting has stopped… and they curl up next to my feet and fall asleep. I love me a doggy!

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  6. It’s wonderful to see Ellie B.’s enthusiasm Mark. She looks so happy and comfortable being back at the Little Bitty. I haven’t had a dog since I was a child, but we often had cats. We would have neighbor’s daughter – who was 16 – drop in to feed them and play with them whenever we went away. The male cat would greet us with joy, but the female would turn her back and give a flip of her tail. It would take about a week before she forgave us and would cuddle again.

    We went to Disney World one March break and our house was broken into. The female cat fled and when we returned she was now here to be found. I was frantic and on the second night back about midnight I heard a meowing from the backyard and i ran out in my underwear and bare feet in two feet of snow and rescued her from the top of the fence. I was so happy to see her. She relented and greeted us enthusiastically that one time. 😀

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  8. I’ve never boarded my dog. The only time I left her was for a long weekend and my sister looked after her. She knocked me over when I got home and licked my face just about off.

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  10. Daddy! My Daddy!
    I recognize that lunge from when I’ve had to collect my dogs from the vets.
    I have never boarded my dogs – a few years ago, my dad came and dog/house sat while I explored the battle sites of the First World War in Belgium and France, but since my dad can no longer care for them, the rule is – if I can’t take the dogs, I don’t go.

    There is nothing like the welcome of a dog after a brief separation.

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    • Yes, dogs know how to make you feel good upon return, Roy. Your dad did you a solid as long as he could. That was a great set-up for all. Now, taking the dogs also is pretty fine for you. We like to take Ellie B when we can, but some trips we must board her.

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  11. aw, that is so sweet and has to make you feel good to know you are so loved and missed. as for nacho the cat not the food, i generally have someone stop over to play with him and feed him each day, and he even gets worried when i’m gone to work each day and paces and talks for a while each day when i get home.

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  12. I know you and your dog were happy to see each other!
    My older daughter and her wife have found cat sitters–one was great and texted them updates–but when they moved they had to find someone else. We don’t have anyone right now to watch our cats.

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  13. I don’t go away a lot. Last time, my daughter and grand kids looks in on my kitty, Lady G. Now I have an additional cat: Dickens. 😀 They get to stay in their own house, which is less traumatic, I think. ❤ ❤

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  15. Such a happy puppy!!!!! When we leave, we just have someone stay at the house, because in addition to two really huge dogs we have saltwater fish and Shirley the turtle. Just easier that way!!!

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  16. Now there is a dog who LOVES you, cuz!! Please give Ellie B lots of snacks, play and extra attention. Boarding always stresses an animal out and it may take a while for her to settle down. I’m so glad the family has been reunited. (((HUGS))) cuz from the west

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  18. I watch my friends’ 2 cats at their house. It is nice for me, since they leave me about 20 dollars of gift cards and put a few treats in fridge and counter, Mark. I feel like a queen but cats know me from my years of friendship. I do a lot of things like open and shut inside blinds, water plants and clean cat litter boxes. I enjoy reading their papers and sitting by their koi pond on weekends or evenings. I work only a few miles away so it is convenient. Ellie B. looks like our lab mix but just to make you feel better,we would get a friend to watch him or one of my brothers and he would look wild-eyed, too upon our return. 🙂

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    • I like that you can relax at your friends’ house with the cats and koi, Robin. Nice! Thanks for your sharp eye catching Ellie B’s wild-eyed look, too. Geesh. She gets all worked up.

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  20. My dogs (spoiled critters) have never fared well with even country club kennels. Now we have a retired couple stay at our house when we travel. It helps the pooches because they are in their own environment. It is hard to find people you trust to stay in your house – we are very fortunate.

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  23. love those action shots of love! nothing better. We had a wonderful place we left our dogs on acres of land, with indoor and outdoor runs, but did it only twice in all the years they were with us as I couldn’t bear to leave them. For overnights my BFF would come stay at our house, which was wonderful. You can tell by their demeanor when they are happy and comfortable, I think we all come to “read” our dogs feelings.

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    • We’ve left her at more open places with more space, Lisa, but they cost two or three times as much! This is her vet, she loves the people, it’s a mile from our house, so we can abide the small city quarters for short stays. Here’s the thing. I tear up when I drop her off even for short stays.

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