Day 3 of the 31 Day Blog Challenge

Obviously, I don't have a business. I hope to one day but for now, I have this blog. Therefore, I will be explaining the meaning of my blog title.

If you're here, you most likely know I have a chihuahua named Goldie. Hardly a conversation passes where I do not mention her. Nonetheless, I think it is time for Goldie's character backstory.

In the fall of 2016, I began college at East Tennessee State University. To put it simply, I was miserable. I was studying biology under the absurd notion that I was to be a vet someday. I learned quickly that chemistry was not a friend of mine.

One of the classes you are required to take during your first semester at ETSU is referred to as ETSU 2020. Basically, it's a "welcome to college" course that teaches you how to survive the cold streets of campus. When you are studying a medical profession, they substitute this class for another similar course that is more centered around building your resume and telling you you will never afford graduate school.

To pass the class, we had to volunteer with a local organization that involved our area of study. An obvious choice for me was to inquire at nearby animal shelters. I was familiar with animal rescue and an old pro at dog care.

In a neighboring town, a shelter was experiencing a change of administration. The already underfunded organization had been caught in illegal acts. The stories I heard would make your blood boil. Obviously, they were all fired and now understaffed. The mayor's assistant was overjoyed when I contacted them.

Due to the commotion of the staff change, the shelter was overcrowded and some animals had been there for far too long despite their loving personalities. Therefore, we decided to host an "adopt-a-thon" at a local pet supply store. The employees and volunteers managed to get a donor to cover the spay and neuter costs and had a lot of success finding these deserving pets loving homes.

One pair of chihuahuas was not so lucky. They had been surrendered by a man who had attempted to get rich quick off breeding. In total, the man left seven chihuahuas at the shelter. As with most purebreds, the rest were adopted rather quickly. Two remained: Sue and One-Eyed Ted.

Granted, the pair were not given very attractive names. Having been surrendered in July, it was October and they still hadn't found a home to open its doors. Ted was aggressive with children and deemed not a good fit for the adopt-a-thon. Sue had been known to cower when with Ted but they guessed that if they separated the two, Sue would become as loving as the others had been.

As Sue snapped her jaws together like a furry alligator, we discovered she was far from loving.

At this point, we were already unloading the crates from the van and did not have time to take her back. We decided to place her crate under the table and try to give her a safe haven for the time being.

Goldie (Sue) on the day of the adopt-a-thon

Throughout the day, the workers checked in with Sue. She predictably went to the corner of her crate and snarled at her visitors. Since I was just a volunteer, I was not supposed to interact with "aggressive" animals and respectively kept my distance. Around noon, most of the others had gone to eat or tend to the other pets. When they came back, they found me holding Sue and chatting with the store's customers.

Understandably, we were confused. This dog had spent the entire day attempting to bite strangers. When I opened her crate, she even wagged her tail a little. There are so many factors to consider when discussing the behavior of an animal. Perhaps she was feeling more at ease with her surroundings. Maybe she liked my voice. Whatever the reason, she was now taking a nap in my arms.

Together, we worked the adopt-a-thon for the rest of the day. I was now given the very important task of Sue's caretaker and was stationed at the front desk where she sat in my lap, growled at customers, licked my hands and snoozed in the sun. Often, I would try to pawn her off on a nice old lady, but Sue would make it a point to show every one of her teeth.

At the end of the day, all of the dogs we had brought had been adopted, save Sue, and we were working on adopting out some of the remaining kittens. The manager looked at me and the napping pup, "This is an adopt-a-thon, after all. Maybe Sue adopted you."

I went home with a chihuahua that night.

Sue and I began our life together as loving fosters. I was uncertain of my ability to keep a pet seeing as I was a freshman in college living on the third floor of an apartment building. We grew together with each uncovered quirk about our personalities and slowly Sue learned how to be a dog. One thing she was not grasping was how to be nice to other humans.

One day, while we were riding home from signing her adoption paperwork, I was brainstorming names. Sue was not a fitting name for a lumpy, grumpy chihuahua. I was running through a list of names of my favorite dogs from my summer job when I came to a stoplight and remembered a happy, friendly English Setter. I looked over at my new companion and noticed how beautiful her yellow coat was in the sunshine. I absorbed the heat of the day and recalled how long it had been since I appreciated the feeling of the sun. "Goldie," I decided.

Goldie after signing her paperwork, in the parking lot of Starbucks.
I had a Pumpkin Spice Latte and she had a Puppacino.

The road after her adoption was not easy. I took her to visit my parents one weekend and she did her normal bad-dog routine. She even bit my mother and attempted to run my dad out of his own house. By the end of the weekend, we were discussing returning her to the shelter. Given my recent mental illness history, they felt I needed a dog to bring me out of my house, not keep me in it. 

Defeated, I went upstairs where Goldie had hid most of the weekend. With tears forming in my eyes, I looked through the blur to see a chihuahua, wagging her tail. Excited about my return, she put her butt in the air and showed me she was ready to play.  I took out my phone and began recording. I sent the video to my mom and got the reply of "She only needs to love you, no one else." 

Luckily, she now is obsessed with my mom and greets my dad happily at the door. Occasionally, she will even share breakfast with my roommate. Together, we have tackled finals, learned to shake, and now we are starting a blog.

Being a fan of classic literature, I have had to read The Outsiders more than I would have liked. The book is not for me, but I can still appreciate its morals. Unfortunately, every time I tell Goldie to "stay" I remember The Outsider's famous line, "Stay golden, Ponyboy." Eventually, it became a motto of ours to say "stay Goldie" instead.

Goldie has a long way to go but so do I. Goldie needs to learn how to make friends...and so do I. What's important is that we have each other. Nothing could convince me to part ways with my chubby, problematic pooch.