12/3/25

 It has been 11ish months since “the incident” with Moe and Jiminy. We have done formal training and been hyper diligent regarding any food and treats. Moe can only have food or treats while separated from the others.

My family wanted to give up on Moe. I don’t blame them. Jiminy is our prized little perfect pup. I just couldn’t give up on Moe at that time. Fundamentally he was/is a “good” dog.

Some dogs are just wired wrong and are dangerous. Moe is extremely cautious but once you have gained his trust, he shows his silly and loving side.

I am proud of how far Moe has come. He has been quite the project. He still needs work. He was able to be around family at Thanksgiving. There was only one growling incident that was corrected immediately. Of course it was with a man that he didn’t know.

We will never be to a point where we can leave him unattended in our yard like Phineas. We have to protect Moe by not putting him in that position.

Today I walked in the den and found him resting in his crate. The same crate he busted up over the weekend. He bent the bars, chewed up the wood and busted out a bar so he could squeeze through.

There he was, just resting in there. If he could have, he would have been flashing me his middle toes and laughing. Such a smug look!

I asked Ethan today if he wanted to attend the parade of lights with us. The next town over has people singing, dancing, tractors and equipment lit up, floats and all things festive. This has been a traditionally thing for us as long as it isn’t Covid and we aren’t in NYC dealing with transplant stuff (we missed a few years).

This is the first year since 2019 that when I asked him, he said “maybe”.  So there’s a chance. My Mom has kept telling me to keep asking, keep including just in case. I was so excited over a “maybe”. Because it was no a No!

These are little signs of progress. 

Then panic set in. If he goes, what if someone is sick? He will need to stand away from people. Can I handle it if he goes? If I hear someone coughing I am going to tense up. Will this feeling ever go away?

I am going to focus on the maybe and let the world work things out from there.

Not that I am counting…(I am absolutely counting) but only one more day to get through until Sarah and Patti’s Annual Christmas Shopping Weekend!