Here Come Spring Thunderstorms and It’s Time to See What Damage Jamie Garrett’s Dog Can Do

Spring brings with it the promise of another year, the blooming of nature from its winter slumber, the damage done to Jamie Garrett's house by his dog during thunderstorms.  Ahhhh, spring.

When we fell in love with Lexi at the Temple Shelter about a week before we were set to move into our first home as a family, we didn't know what to expect.  Here was this beautiful golden retriever/collie mix that was just an angel, but why was she at the shelter?  I'd never change the decision we made to bring her into our family, obviously, but she's tested our patience time and time again.

The first three years we had Lexi as part of our family, she never had a problem with loud noises.  I'm convinced the irrational fear came from hunters in the field behind our house hunting dove.  She'd hear the boom, followed a few seconds later by stray dove shot.

I say this because the first time she EVER attempted to escape was during hunting season's first weekend when she was in the backyard.  I heard the dove shot hitting the roof of the back porch, and I even called the non-emergency number for Temple PD when it became evident it was freaking out the dog.

Fast forward these years eight later where the damage includes too many wooden fence panels to count, drywall destroyed in the garage AND bedroom, baseboard damage around all doors, carpet torn up TWICE, multiple ASPCA-approved cages destroyed, mini-blinds and more drywall in the bedroom destroyed and countless other moments of implosion on her part.

Through it all, we love her.  What we don't love is spring.  Spring can take a long walk off a short pier.  Spring is terrible.  Not only does it bring with the panic-inducing thunderstorms that pop up out of nowhere, leaving the house unprotected from the dog, but it also signals the summer-heat that's right around the corner.  I hate you, spring.  Extend winter another three months and go right from highs of 48 to highs of 98.  I can live with that.

What I can't live with is another round of freak-outs that result in damage.  That damage to the home leads to damage to my ear drums from my wife's... take on the situation... to the inevitable realization that it's not her fault, sometimes all within a matter of seconds.  It's stressful, and I've tried everything but the drugs.  I don't want to have a strung-out dog every year by the time June rolls around.  Can you imagine the withdrawals from a dog trying to get off the doggie xanax?