Pippi

Miss Pippi is the longest resident of BAGS, she’s been with us 11 years. She has been a lifer from the start. Pippi came as a 3 week old puppy with her mom, a pure bred basset hound, and all her siblings. Her mom was a stray and had puppies in a barn. We thought Pippi would be the first to be adopted, she was such a cutie. Her mom was adopted, and all the siblings. We kept trying with Pippi, she would just turn crazy when someone came to see her, and then get very sick and vomit. She did not want to leave. We tried 3 times, and 3 times it didn’t work. She finally made us understand she wanted to stay. Her BAGS were permanently unpacked and she was home. Pippi had a complicated personality. I heard the same of some of her siblings, they had an aggressive side. There was definitely a genetic issue with this family.  Lucky for Pippi, we stuck with her. She was on Prozac for many years. It didn’t cure her issues, but definitely took the edge off and helped her manage. In the last year her stomach decided it wasn’t agreeing anymore and her liver count was even elevated. She now takes Xanax and does really well. She even gave Tami Carmer kisses the other day! That was a proud moment for all!

Pippi is not aggressive with people, she loves us, absolutely adores kids, wants to be with them. She sometimes gets angry with other dogs and mostly afraid of people she isn’t used to, some she never gets used to. The best way we have learned to live peacefully with Pippi is to know what triggers her and watch for signs to prevent a bad moment. She gets very stressed from the sound of a smoke alarm, the alarm on the frig if left open too long, the littlest things can send her in the wrong direction. She has mellowed out in her senior years. If we have visitors, depending on her attitude, she is better to just chill out in the bedroom or she won’t stop barking. When Pippi has to visit the vet, she has to come home and decompress for a couple hours by herself or she will lash out at another dog.

Pippi is a good girl, loves her friends, is very loyal and watches over her yard, usually from the picnic table so she can oversee everything she wants to. When she’s lounging on my bed, she’s usually has one eye open watching out the window.  We are so glad we stuck with her, We feel she is living her best life.