Erika Shupe *grim rictus* Large Families on Purpose Part 4

[JillyO]

Holy fucking shit. Happy is most definitely not a happy dog. That is straight up animal abuse. I feel like crying right now. :(((((

[lawfulevil]

We just moved (12/1). Builders here (at least in our price range) don't landscape backyards. At this time of year that means the backyard was a mud pit. So I put 6' x 12' of artificial turf and 3 tons of gravel down (that's not the whole yard- delivery wasn't available, I have to haul it 900 lbs at a time in my station wagon) so the dog would have somewhere reasonable to go. She prefers the gravel, who knows. We still walk her 3-4 times a day.

We do restrict her water- she has water all the time, but she has a giant hamster bottle some times of day because she's very prone to drinking too much water too quickly after walks and then vomiting everywhere.

Gravel's not that expensive, Jill... and you can use it to fix the drainage in the yard.

[lawfulevil]

Oops, I totally confused Jill and Erika. Well. You know. Neglect, too many kids...

[Burpies]

Some people on GOMI have found out that Happy is only offered water twice a day, after breakfast and after dinner, so that he isn't peeing constantly/doesn't have to be taken outside. Wut?? Our dog has water access 24/7. Erika's at home all. the. time so taking him out shouldn't be an issue either, it takes like 1-2 mins max for a dog to do its business. He was also wearing a "Belly Band", aka a dog diaper. Sounds a lil' crazy to me.

Doesn't sound like he's probably very 'Happy' to me. That poor dog. But, could you expect any less from Erika? She prob does the same for the children.

[Taters]

10 hours ago, ViolaSebastian said:

Erika...you suck.  And you're an animal abuser.  

ARGH. And who ever talks about "a dog going potty".

9 hours ago, Jingerbread said:

 She's obsessed with controlling the bathroom habits of everyone around her.  What the fuck is wrong with her?

Indeed.
I admire your commitment to your dog. It does sound very tedious. How often a day does a healthy dog have to go (out)?

[Tim-Tom Biblethumper]

I have an 11 year old dachshund and he gets the urge to go every 3.5 to 4 hours.  He has a doggy-door for when I'm at work, and access to two huge water bowls 24/7.

 

[Koala]

There are at least a dozen simple solutions to the "problem" of the dog needing to use the bathroom.  The first and foremost is that Erika Shupe doesn't need a dog.  Period.

Our solution is for our dog to always have access to water...because you know...dehydration. 

When he was a puppy my husband and I took him out every 2 hours like clockwork.  He potty trained in almost no time, but during those first weeks we were up at all hours. Still,  it was pretty easy in the grand scheme of things.  I only remember a handful of accidents, and by the time he was 6 months I could leave him completely unattended when we went out and be safe in the knowledge that he wouldn't wet the floor or destroy the house while we were gone.

We also taught him how to knock on the back door, which leads to a privacy fenced back yard.  My house is tiny, but my backyard is gigantic.  Now when he needs to go (or needs to bark at the neighborhood dogs), he just knocks on the door and I let him out.  Then when he wants back in he knocks again.  Easy.

Also, Erika Shupe doesn't need a dog.  Period.

[Eternalbluepearl]

38 minutes ago, Koala said:

There are at least a dozen simple solutions to the "problem" of the dog needing to use the bathroom.  The first and foremost is that Erika Shupe doesn't need a dog.  Period.

 

Preach it. She is so not the personality of a dog owner yet keeps forcing the issue. I don't like messes or dog hair or standing outside in bad weather waiting for a dog to go potty and guess what? I don't have a dog. 

[defraudingjezebel]

28 minutes ago, Eternalbluepearl said:

Preach it. She is so not the personality of a dog owner yet keeps forcing the issue. I don't like messes or dog hair or standing outside in bad weather waiting for a dog to go potty and guess what? I don't have a dog. 

I think Erika loves the idea of having a dog, but isn't able to deal with the reality of it. I also think she wants people to praise her for having the perfect big family, dog included. She is so obsessed with how she and her family appear to others, whether that refers to how she dresses/her personal appearance to how she appears, character-wise, to the public. She may humblebrag about how she's not perfect but we all damn well know that she wants her family to have a façade of perfection. 

[Eternalbluepearl]

Not to mention, with the limited income they are on, I'm surprised they'd take on the expense of dog food and vet bills. I can't imagine what they already spend feeding 11 humans, buying toilet paper, paper towels, toiletries, etc for 11 people. To add a dog and birds too? No thanks. I'm not even snarking and saying well...Erika doesn't feed her kids much to begin with...that stuff is expensive period. And you can't buy food at the Value Village. Fundies boggle my mind. 

[ILoveJellybeans]

That's disgusting, animals have a right to water, and she shouldn't deprive her dog of drinks because she is too lazy to take him outside to pee regularly.

[19 cats and counting]

I wonder if Happy has ever seen a vet.  We already know her kids don't see a regular dr, so does the same apply to her dog?

[princessmahina]

The only pet Erika should have is a pet rock. And I'm not sure I'd trust her with that either.

[notfundy]

So weird to restrict their dog from water.  

Made me think of a story (a true story).  

We had a beloved Springer Spaniel for years; she lived to be almost seventeen  (17!)   For a couple of years when she was 5-6, she drank a lot of water; we were actually afraid she was diabetic or something.   And she used to run downstairs (where her food and water dish were located) and drink water very rapidly when the kids upstairs got too rowdy or loud.  Of course she was outside peeing all the time but we - YOU KNOW - let her out and walked her frequently!  

Anyway, the excessive water drinking got to be weird and concerning to us, so on the advice of our vet our doggy spent two days at the veterinary hospital at the large University near us so they could measure her water intake and do all sorts of other tests ... our vet had found nothing at all based on blood tests, urine samples, etc. 

So we go to pick her up from the vet hospital and she is diagnosed with  Psychogenic Polydipsia.  Which means "drinking a lot of water due to psychological reasons".    Basically, she'd get stressed out by the kids running around (she thought they were fighting or hurting each other) so her solution was to run away and drink a whole lot (and I mean a SHITLOAD) of water.   It did make our kids feel badly when they heard the scary-sounding diagnosis and they tried to settle things down.  

But god - at least we figured out what it was.  Cannot imagine how stressed that dog is in the Shupe household.  

[19 cats and counting]

The only animals that belong in the Shupe household can be purchased at Toys R Us.  But I doubt that Erika would go near that store, because it would mean *gasp* *worldly* fun for her children, which we know is not allowed.

[AlwaysExcited]

How hard it can be to handle pee things of one small dog, if you live in house, have a yard and someone is home all day? Serious question.
I mean, it never felt hard for me to handle that particular aspect of dog owning, and we live in apartment and everyone has real school/work.

[elliha]

1 hour ago, notfundy said:

So weird to restrict their dog from water.  

Made me think of a story (a true story).  

We had a beloved Springer Spaniel for years; she lived to be almost seventeen  (17!)   For a couple of years when she was 5-6, she drank a lot of water; we were actually afraid she was diabetic or something.   And she used to run downstairs (where her food and water dish were located) and drink water very rapidly when the kids upstairs got too rowdy or loud.  Of course she was outside peeing all the time but we - YOU KNOW - let her out and walked her frequently!  

Anyway, the excessive water drinking got to be weird and concerning to us, so on the advice of our vet our doggy spent two days at the veterinary hospital at the large University near us so they could measure her water intake and do all sorts of other tests ... our vet had found nothing at all based on blood tests, urine samples, etc. 

So we go to pick her up from the vet hospital and she is diagnosed with  Psychogenic Polydipsia.  Which means "drinking a lot of water due to psychological reasons".    Basically, she'd get stressed out by the kids running around (she thought they were fighting or hurting each other) so her solution was to run away and drink a whole lot (and I mean a SHITLOAD) of water.   It did make our kids feel badly when they heard the scary-sounding diagnosis and they tried to settle things down.  

But god - at least we figured out what it was.  Cannot imagine how stressed that dog is in the Shupe household.  

Something similar happens with my brother's dog when it is alone. The vet told them to give the dog a certain amount per hour they are away to avoid the dog drinking freaking amounts while still getting sufficient water. It also has an outside pen where it is less stressed out which they often put her in as well. Since moving in with his new girlfriend who also has a dog I think the problem has more or less disappeared.

[princessmahina]

1 hour ago, AlwaysExcited said:

How hard it can be to handle pee things of one small dog, if you live in house, have a yard and someone is home all day? Serious question.
I mean, it never felt hard for me to handle that particular aspect of dog owning, and we live in apartment and everyone has real school/work.

Erika doesn't seem to be able to handle much. I think that's why she has everyone (including newborns) on rigid schedules and why she has a couple hours a day of quiet time where no one can talk to her or anyone else. A dog, for that family, was a mistake. It's probably a good thing she rehomed the other two and, as much as I hate saying it, it might be in the dog's best interest if she gave Happy to a good home. In most homes he at least would have free access to water and outdoor time.

[Naga Viper]

3 hours ago, defraudingjezebel said:

I think Erika loves the idea of having a dog, but isn't able to deal with the reality of it. I also think she wants people to praise her for having the perfect big family, dog included. She is so obsessed with how she and her family appear to others, whether that refers to how she dresses/her personal appearance to how she appears, character-wise, to the public. She may humblebrag about how she's not perfect but we all damn well know that she wants her family to have a façade of perfection. 

The bolded is also true of Erika having children.

Honestly, I have no idea how often a dog needs to go because we always had a damn doggy door and we never questioned whether they were going out to relieve themselves, get some sun, or start a fence fight with the neighbors for shits n' giggles. My dogs got to exercise more free will than the poor Shupe kids. SMH

Oh. And my dogs also figured out that if their water bowls ran dry, they could flip the bowl, glare at the nearest human, then flip it again until something was done about it. Dominance is a funny thing.

[AlwaysExcited]

19 minutes ago, princessmahina said:

Erika doesn't seem to be able to handle much. I think that's why she has everyone (including newborns) on rigid schedules and why she has a couple hours a day of quiet time where no one can talk to her or anyone else. A dog, for that family, was a mistake. It's probably a good thing she rehomed the other two and, as much as I hate saying it, it might be in the dog's best interest if she gave Happy to a good home. In most homes he at least would have free access to water and outdoor time.

Also walks, play dates with other dogs, training, playing, snuggles, good food, real vets, actual love.
It doesn't look like Happy gets much of these things. Poor dog.

[Pianokeeper]

We have two dogs, the larger of whom is a compulsive water drinker.  If a toilet lid is up anywhere in the house, for example, she'll zero in on it and drink herself sick.  She's been like this her whole life, though funnily enough it was also worst when she was about 5 years old, now that I think about it (she just turned 10 a few weeks ago -- unbelievable!  She still feels like my baby).

So for this dog, we do give her water at specific intervals in her bowl -- but she has also learned to tell us when she's thirsty (and we'll almost always top it up for her).  Not all methods work for all animals.

Of course, this is an entirely different situation from just... not wanting to take your dog out.  Goodness.  And I thought the belly band things were for dogs who for age or other reasons couldn't hold it any more, not just convenience...?

Torn between actual concern and thinking it's probably still a better life for poor Happy than being in a shelter somewhere.  Sigh.

[apandaaries]

17 minutes ago, Pianokeeper said:

Torn between actual concern and thinking it's probably still a better life for poor Happy than being in a shelter somewhere.  Sigh.

Happy is a cute, small breed.  Even if s/he (boy or girl?  I forgot) were to land in a shelter, s/he wouldn't be in there long.  

The woman has herself and her children on a strict diet, locks the bathroom door, confines small children in small spaces for long stretches of time, doesn't appear to take them to a regular doctor, continues to bathe and brush the teeth of kids nearing the 2-digit ages, ETA: keeps birds, but keeps them caged at all times to avoid mess...but I'm still shocked that she has "trained" the dog to only take water twice daily.  

Has it never occurred to her that she could eat more if she exercised more, like by taking the kids and dog on regular walks? Well, I suppose more food would blow the grocery budget.  

How hideous that any living creature has to live with her, under her rigid and unrelenting rules.  

[defraudingjezebel]

@EscapedCardinal I totally agree that she can't deal with the reality of a large family. I think her over-the-top need for total control and organization helps her cope with the anxieties of having so many children. 

@amandaaries I think you're totally right. I think if (God forbid) something were to happen to Happy and he needed more than basic care, Erika would immediately rehome him because she wouldn't be able to cope. Sadly, I think that Erika would keep getting new dogs to replace the ones she gave away because she's totally convinced that any living creature can be scheduled and controlled minute to minute. 

[16strong]

5 hours ago, 19 cats and counting said:

I wonder if Happy has ever seen a vet.  We already know her kids don't see a regular dr, so does the same apply to her dog?

Chiropractors for everyone! ...even the dog. *CHUCKLE*

[WhiteRun]

My dogs need at least 2 clean, fresh bowls of water and I'm so so strict on that. 
Can't her kids learn responsibilities by taking the dog out?!
Happy is probably supplementing water for whatever it can find which is bound to end badly.