Rooster, the One-eye Boston

Rooster, our one-eyed Boston Terrier.

When I used to conjure up an image of a one-eyed dog, I always imagine a grizzled, powerful, bad ass dog that would stand up to any threat, no matter how dangerous. Kind of an Ol' Yeller dog, who would attack the rabid wolf to save his family even though it leads to his own demise. (Writer's Note: I know that you are thinking: who does that? As a storyteller, my job is to imagine things. All kinds of things - even one-eyed dogs. Imagine how useful that could be in a story for tweens? I wrote a young adult novel (see The Ogre Prince on Amazon) that doesn't have any one-eyed dogs but does have an ogre whose teeth you can see through a hole in his cheek, so you get the idea. I'd put 'one-eyed dog' on par with 'carcass' as a desirable term to use in a narrative whenever the chance arises.)

Now that I own a one-eyed dog, I have had to refine my perception from bad ass dog to dumb ass dog. At least in the case of Rooster. Rooster had two eyes when we adopted him back in January of 2020. He lost one eye after jumping over a 30" fence to attack a 90lb dog. He weighed about 15lb at the time and could only bite his intended victim on his feet and legs. The absolute definition of dumb ass if ever there was one.

Last night, Rooster got to chase his first rabbit. (Don't worry, he did not catch it.) He was just squatting to do his business when he realized a rabbit had the audacity to be staring at him from a few feet away. Well, business be damned. Rooster had a yard to protect and the chase was on. And off about ten seconds later when the rabbit disappeared into bushes on the side of the yard.

You may have heard about finicky eaters. Rooster is a finicky pooper. He requires the exact proper moment and conditions to do his business. Raining? Forget it. Wind blowing? Forget it. Birds singing too loudly? Forget it. Tractor, truck, or car going down the road in front of the house? Forget it. Neighbors' kids in the yard? Forget it. Neighbor without kids in the yard? Forget it. Beautiful, calm, quiet, sunny day with no distractions? Maybe. Might need to eat a dandelion instead.

Rooster's real problem is he is ADHD. I'm sure all dog owners would make the same claim about their dogs, but Rooster is ADHD on steroids. Even when sitting quietly, he remains on high alert and gets up to patrol the house every few minutes. He is also very loving and as much as he wants to be in charge, he defers to his little sister in all things. Poppy is about two-thirds of his size and weight, much calmer and lets Rooster know the minute he steps out of line. She can also make him give up a chew toy just by staring at him. That's power.

We cannot abide cruelty, so don't. Do something to serve someone needier than you this week.

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