UPS had their home number and the delivery guy would call from down the road to ask her to put the dog up.
I miss that dog as much as she does. She thinks she’s too old right now to get a new puppy so he hasn’t been replaced. When our elderly cats pass on, however, I’ve decided if we get an inside/outside dog it will be a German Shepherd.
That’s what I have to do when service people come to the house, tell them to please call when they’re on the way so I can put the dogs up.
When mine go, I’m going to want more dogs, but I’m afraid that I’ll be too old to outlast them, and I just can’t feel that anyone would love them like I do. But on the other hand, if it were just one or two, I know that I have enough siblings who know how I feel about them and who love me enough :) that they’d take on one or two and do their best on my behalf. At least it would be one-two more dogs saved from life on the streets. I know that as long as it wasn’t more than two, my brother would never let them go to the pound. He knows I’d haunt him, and he loves dogs too, though he’s not as “gushy” about it as I tend to get.
If I do, it’ll just be whatever strays I come across that I can take home and help.
I can’t even read “cruelty to animals” stories, it haunts my mind for days, and makes me want to inflict cruel and unusual punishment on the sorry excuse for “humans” who did it. It’s about the only thing I’m squeamish over.
I wonder if it would work to have a small kiddie pool for your dog? One of my sisters had a neighbor who was neglecting the puppy in their backyard, so when I visited the sister, I bought a kiddy pool , sneaked it into their yard, filled it with water, and showed the poor thing how to get in. It was also better than nothing when they didn’t think to put fresh water out in the Texas heat. They didn’t seem to mind when they caught me, I also bought a huge bag of dog food so they would feed the poor thing. I’d have dog-napped it if I could have.
Not implying anything at all, I can tell you’re a good and caring dog owner! Just an idea.