The Wickes Family: Kaiser Chronicles

Our dog Kaiser here recently has been the biggest source of financial and emotional stress. He has broken out of our fence numerous times and in the process permanently damaging his gums and scarring his face. He has some deep afflicting fear and anxiety that much to my dismay, I probably caused. As life has gone on and we have added more children to our family, traveling and just plain living life Kaiser has taken a back seat. I wouldn't even say he was in the back seat, more like in the trunk. I believe he has suffered abandonment from his pack, us. He has so much fear of being cast out and anxiety about being separated from us, like being put out in the back yard all the time, that he was willing to do himself substantial harm to get to us. I have barred my soul on this issue and prayed for a resolution. In an act of desperation and anger we took him to animal control and paid $20 to turnover ownership and hoped he would be adopted by another family that might be able to contain and enjoy him more. Four days went by, I cried many tears and was overtaken by the guilt that filled my heart. On Wednesday I just couldn't handle it anymore and I went back to the pound and paid another $75 to re-adopt my dog. After a bunch of research the above conclusion is what we came to (separation anxiety and such). The resolution, we hope, is to play with him (check) love him or at least acknowledge his presence as a family member (check) and be patient in his rehabilitation. Thankfully this is a new issue so one that should be able to be reversed. After much prayer my heart has changed and I again don't see him as a nuisance but a valued member of our family and I can safely and honestly say I love that dog.