Friday, May 28, 2010

Zigginess

First I would like to thank all of your for your kind words and support. Spot and Trickster are hanging in there, and if we can get through the next few days, they have a good chance of recovery. Your friendship and well wishes really mean a lot to me - thank you!

Now today I'd like to talk more about Ziggy. He intrigues me. Ziggy is unlike any dog I have ever fostered. In the past three years, I've fostered 96 dogs or puppies. And none of them have even come close to matching Ziggy in terms of, well, Zigginess. Yep, that's a real word - if you look it up in the Dog Foster Mom dictionary, you'll find this entry:

 Zig'gi-ness n.

1. Exhibiting a lack of wisdom or good sense; foolish. See Synonyms at silliness.

2. Ludicrously or whimsically comical; clownish.

3. An indefatigable chewer.





Its hard to pinpoint what exactly it is about Ziggy that makes him special. When we first got him, my husband claimed Ziggy was mentally challenged. But I knew that Ziggy was intelligent - he quickly learned some basic commands. However I am still considering the possibility that he has a learning disability. And possibly a nutritional deficiency - something to explain why he has to constantly have something to chew on. I've fostered a lot of puppies, and almost all puppies chew quite a bit- but Ziggy is by far the worst of them. He is either sleeping, eating, or chewing. Even when we go on long walks and he is very tired, he still can't resist picking up a stick to chew on as he walks by. I have never seen anything like it. But even that is not what makes him so special. It's more to do with his strange behavior. For example, a few days ago as we walked around the neighborhood, I was walking Ziggy, Casey and Noelle together. When we passed a couple walking by, Noelle tried to head over to them to say hello and become their best friend. Casey wagged his tail in greeting and waited to see if they would acknowledge him. Ziggy glanced at them, saw they had nothing to chew on, and kept going right on by. That's not so strange - a lot of dogs will mostly ignore strangers. But then we passed a man mowing his grass. And Ziggy got so excited, I had to physically drag him away. In fact, at one point when I wouldn't let him go toward the guy, he just laid down on the ground and refused to move or look away from the man and the lawnmower. Even as I dragged him down the street, he continued to look over his shoulder at the man mowing his grass for almost an entire block, until the man was out of sight. This wasn't a single occurrence. The scenario has repeated itself several times since then. We also have some maintenance being done to our subdivision street, and Ziggy will sit in the yard as close as he can get to them and just watch them for hours.  If kids are out playing in the street, or people are walking by, he ignores them.  But the people working on the street have some heavy machinery they are using to tear up the concrete.  So I think I've figured this much out about what Ziggy is thinking.... People alone - ignore them. People with power machinery - JACKPOT!! I just don't understand why. It's one more clue in the puzzle that is Ziggy.

Although Ziggy doesn't usually behave like a normal dog, I love his little quirks. He is almost ten months old already. I've had him since last December, and even though I joke about his lack of prospective adopters, I do think he'll get a home other than mine eventually. He has actually been showing a lot of improvement in the past couple of weeks in regard to not chewing on people. If he keeps this up, he may be adopted sooner rather than later. I'm trying to prepare myself for that eventuality. I'm not sure what I'll do when he finds a home. Cry? Throw a Party? Probably both.

18 comments:

3 doxies said...

Oh you just hads to go and throw in da "other than mine" part didn't cha.
Maybe he has an iron deficiancy, you know pregnant get and they chews on ice and wierd stuffs like that. Others than that I'm clueless. But Ziggy is mosr definately beautiful.
Oh and in cases you were wondering...I'm not like normal dogs either and if Ziggy happens to get like a jack hammer can you haves him send it to me Fedex. Thank you.
Puddles

Gnomebody said...

I wondering if the vibration of the lawn mower or the heavy equipment attracts Ziggy. Something comforting? He's a darn cute kid, even though he is quirky!

Auggie and Riley's Mommy
BooDee BooDah Tribe

Leila said...

I swear to you, he and Quizz are twins separated by 6 years. Quizz has had a love affair with machines and other large things for years. Finally, he realized, when he was about 4 that, they were bigger than him. The one incident that gave me the most grey hair involved a team repaving the shoulder of the rural highway we lived on and a load of asphalt. 5 second from puppy fritter. The worst he got was sore paws from the previously laid asphalt. I think Quizz is part cat with the requisite 9 lives.

Ziggy just likes to reason things out. Has he started opening doors?

Cupcake said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cupcake said...

Ziggy is so cute! I love reading your blog everyday.

mayziegal said...

I thinks maybe Gnomebody is on to something here! Since Ziggy's deaf, maybe the vibrations make him really interested in what's going on. See? You can add this to your list of potential adopters: lumberjacks and heavy machinery operators. Can't you just see him sitting up in the seat of one of those big back hoe things?

Honestly, I just don't think you're looking in the right places for the peoples who might adopt him. Instead of the adoption fair next time, try a construction site.

Oh, he is just Most Handsome! Everytime I see a picture of him, I think he gets more and more and more handsome!

Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie

Amy & the house of cats said...

I was thinking the same thing about the vibrations! Maybe Ziggy is picking up on those. I would think that it has to be something related to the mechanical - who knows, maybe even though he is deaf he can kind of "hear" something from them in his own Ziggy way (through vibrations, or sight - ok, I really have no idea). That or he REALLY wants to go into construction.

It is good that he is chewing on people less - but oh I have to be honest I will be sad if he gets adopted. You need to add in a "you must start a blog" clause on him or something!

Remington said...

The Zigman RCOKS!

Rebecca said...

Ziggy is pretty cute... Momma says she loves his little eye patch on his face.
Daisy Mae

Two Pitties in the City said...

I love the Ziggy posts. Could his fascination be something from his past life? Some memory of a person so he's conditioned to like them?

meowmeowmans said...

What a cute boy Ziggy is! Glad to hear he's making some progress. Sometimes, the animals that try my patience the most are the ones I end up building strong bonds with. It may have to do with the fact that even the smallest improvement is reason for celebration. :)

Have a great weekend.

Anonymous said...

He was very good when I walked him at the flea market! I don' t see him often--more like every other week or
so--so I see improvements you may not see. You are training him to be a good dog. Linda

the booker man said...

go easy on ziggy dude! i wanna know whats so wrong with chewin' everythingie in sight?! :)
*woof*
the booker man

kissa-bull said...

ziggyness that ish so funnish and so purrfect to the ziggyman
kinda like silly tee hee
that fits him purrfectly
he ish cuteness ofurload

pibble wiggles
the pittie pack

Unknown said...

Aww Ziggy doesn't notice other people since he is deaf and likely focuses alot on vibrations which is why he is sooo interested in machines.

It sucks having to hear about Ziggy needing a home, since he could have one with me and a blog. BSL sucks. I hope he finds a home where BSL is never an issue.

Lola and also Franklin, too said...

Well it is probably the vibrations, but then, a lot of young dudes are fascinated with heavy equipment. The urge to chew will probably get lesa and less as he matures. By the time he's seven or eight it'll probably minimal. Hee hee. Really though, he sounds like he's coming along great, but I'm not sure you could give him up when someone does want to adopt him. He's such a great challenge.

wags, Lola

Kari in Alaska said...

i laugh at the image of him staring down the machinery :)

Ying and Yang said...

Mom thinks that Ziggy is very handsome and thinks his quirky personality is what makes him irresistable . If you lived anywhere near us, he'd have a furever home already! We have our paws crossed for him!

Grins and Kisses
Ying and Yang