The Rubinator

Have you ever heard a cat walk around calling for his friend that isn't there? If you haven't, let me tell you, it is the saddest thing you have ever heard. We have two pets. Ruby the red heeler and Henry the tuxedo cat. Ruby isn't home right now. Jeremy had to take her to the emergency vet tonight because of a serious seizure she had after coming home from the regular vet.
Ruby was a pound puppy that we saved about ten years ago. When we adopted her she was already about a year or a year and half old. I was working at REI at the time in Dallas and the SPCA came in for an adoption weekend. They set up camp by the front doors with a multitude of pups and cats looking for homes. I saw Ruby (who was then named Rasta) and recognized her breed. Jeremy had mentioned to me that he wanted a buddy and thought that maybe a dog was the kind of buddy he wanted. Neither of us had cell phones at the time. I held Ruby in my lap for about two hours before I was able to get in touch with Jeremy for him to come check out this new friend. He came in the front doors, took the leash out of my hands, walked outside for all of fifteen minutes then came back in. Let's get her. He was sold immediately. And that is where Ruby's affection for me disappeared and her love affair with Jeremy began. We only found out years later that red heelers are one owner animals. They will only take commands or give respect to one owner. That one owner is not me.
Ruby and I have had an extremely difficult relationship. She doesn't like me because I take away the precious attention that Jeremy could be giving her. She doesn't like our children for the same reason. But, she is smart enough to know what side her bread is buttered on. Anytime she wanted to lash out it was always towards me. She ate my shoes, my photos, my food. But, if Jeremy had anything out it was always untouched. Ruby is a disturbingly smart dog. You wouldn't know she is as smart as she is by just looking at her. But, she is on constant alert. Ready to snap to attention with a doggy "sir, yes, sir!" whenever Jeremy walks into the room.
But, like most incredibly smart creatures on Earth, she is plagued with mental illness. Seriously, I am not kidding. I think it starts with the feeling of being abandoned by her original owners. Frankly, it may start with the trauma of having a name like Rasta forced upon you. Please, if you have ever met our dog you know she is so far from a Rasta it is laughable. I digress. Her original owners lived in an apartment and then ended up having a child and Ruby didn't fit into their lives anymore. I know this because I was able to track them down to find out whether she had been neutered or not. This is a nice segue into the next step deeper into her mental illness. The owners did not have her neutered while she was living with them. When we adopted Ruby Jeremy signed a contract stating he would have her neutered if she wasn't already. Once I discovered she was intact we made the appointment to have her internal organs rearranged. Our biggest concern that day was the fact that Jeremy's inspection of the Volvo was out of date and he wanted to use my Jeep to drive down to the SPCA downtown. It is located very close to the Dallas jail. He was worried about getting a ticket. I was at work when I received a call from Jeremy later that evening. He was worried about how thing Ruby was on her return. Less than twelve hours later and she had a considerable weight loss. I remember telling Jeremy that she had jsut had her insides scooped out and that we should expect some weight loss. I had no idea how thin she was until I got home.
Once home I was able to understand Jeremy's concern. We had Ruby for a few weeks before we took her to be neutered. She had gained a good amount of weight while living with us. I just figured it was because she wasn't stressed anymore and was catching up on the kibble. I had no idea how wrong I was. I asked Jeremy for her paperwork to check it out. It was in the Jeep. I walked out, got the paperwork and was mortified by what I read. Down at the bottom of the paper the word "abortion" was circled and then marked out. A part of me wanted to believe they wrote on the wrong paper. That they really didn't abort all of Ruby's puppies. I grabbed the phone as soon as I got back into our apartment. The woman I spoke to pulled Ruby's chart and confirmed that she was indeed pregnant and they aborted the puppies. She then chimed in " but we didn't charge you for the procedure since you adopted her from us." I was stunned. She just told me this as though she had done us a favor. We were livid. Jeremy had tears in his eyes he was so angry.
Ruby wandered the apartment all night looking for the things she lost. Looking for her babies.
So, that is strike two for mental health for Ruby. She became neurotic and it took a few years before she seemed to recover from the surgery upset. She became fiercely devoted to Jeremy. It seemed to catalyze her feelings for him. She and I just regarded each other. She likes me when Jeremy is gone. She definitely does not like our children. But, she too has had a companion for the last five years. Enter: Henry
Henry came into the picture when I thought I needed a buddy. Two weeks after I got him I found out I was pregnant. We introduced Henry to Ruby the night we brought him home. Ruby spent a half an hour licking Henry's head. It would seem she found a surrogate child. All those years of missing her puppies would be put behind her. Little did she know that this little package of floppy feet and huge ears would be such a hand full. It would not at all be surprising to see Henry pounce on Ruby from his cat tree or hanging from Ruby's upper lip with a single claw. Ruby was incredibly patient with Henry. She would turn and look at you with a face that said "Kids, what are we supposed to do with them?" Over the years the two animals have kept up a relationship but they don't spend the time together like they used to. Suffice it to say, Henry is a bit out of sorts tonight.
Ruby has never given up hope that one day she will wake up and there will be no wife or children to contend with. That she can go back to the days of her master taking her to the park, feeding her whatever he was eating, chasing balls and jumping for sticks. Over the years though, we are still here and much to her chagrin we have added to the brood. Now, she must contend with two little boys that desperately want a dog that will love them. She regards them with passive disdain. Out of respect of her master she doesn't bite the kids to satisfy her dislike of them. She has remembered that having a baby around the house means lots of spilled food. She will camp out under the high chair waiting for the baby to drop food. What she doesn't realize is that Kellen is so in love with her he doesn't accidentally drop food. He purposely throws it over the side for her.
It is amazing how much we take our pets for granted. A few hours ago I was cursing Ruby for being under foot in the kitchen while I was trying to feed the baby. Or yelling at her to get off the blankets. And now here I cursing myself for taking our my impatience on the dog. All she has done is be a constant companion to the man I love. She has given him unconditional love. She has supplied us with an alarm system should any one hit the bark bell next to the front door (read: door bell). We have felt safe with that neurotic dog around the house.
The vet called not too long ago to say her blood work came back normal with the exception of an elevated kidney reading. He wasn't terribly concerned ab0ut that. He is thinking either she got into something toxic and the flushing of fluids should do some good or she has cancer of the brain. I pray for the former. But, if not, then we spend the rest of her days trying to repay the love she has shown in her own little dysfunctional little way.