When we first saw her, she was pitiful. Shaking, sick, eyes infected and mangy.
Pitiful.
The kids cried and begged to take her home, even though I had said I did NOT want a Chihuahua or any mix thereof. Even though we had gone to the shelter "just to look" and "consider" a companion for our sweet, oh-so-obedient mutt.
I caved.
And lived to regret it.
She was sweet, I'll give you that. But she barked.
And barked.
And barked.
Oh, and she left "presents" on the carpet. In my husband's closet.
That really helped his bonding with her.
Ahem.
We bought "scat mats" that would keep her in the kitchen on the hardwoods, which worked. But it also kept our older, oh-so-obedient mutt in the kitchen which seemed not quite fair.
But the little dog was sweet, I'll give you that.
For two years she lived here, until she apparently decided to become the neighborhood terrorist.
She began escaping daily, roaming the street and barking at every. single. person. who walked in front of our house. We would try to catch her, and she would just run farther and faster.
She came home eventually, but I'm sure our neighbors hated us.
Finally, I approached a friend who has a wide network of acquaintances. I asked her to let me know if she knows ANYONE who would wantthe terrorist the nuisance the sweet doggie.
She called me at 8am the next morning.
The new owners picked her up at 1pm that afternoon!
A sweet young mom and her son had lost their dog to cancer. Their dog looked identical tothe terrorist the nuisancc our dog! They picked her up and the little boy was so happy.
I was so happy.
The kids were not so happy.
But a few days later my friend was here with pictures and stories...and would you believe that dog has not had one single accident in their apartment??
We tried for TWO STINKING YEARS to housebreak that dog and she goes to their apartment and is an absolute angel!
It was meant to be, right?
Oh, and the kids got over it because our sweet oh-so-obedient dog can now sleep in their rooms again and awakens me every morning with a lick on my fingers and a cold nose against my arm.
Word to the wise. Don't buy puppies unless you can commit to their training! We have now learned a big lesson...older dogs are already trained and their personalities established. Our older dog came home at four years old and she has been the best dog we've ever had. She is a joy. A family like ours, with lots of kids, just does not have the time to invest in intense training. We will get another friend for our older dog soon, but no more puppies...not in this family!
Between the fish, the hermit crab, the guinea pigs, and five kids I would say we have plenty of excitement around here! I do not need anything else with energy to spare...just a nice, calm companion who will lay at my feet and snore.
Which is exactly what my sweet Mags is doing right now.
Pitiful.
The kids cried and begged to take her home, even though I had said I did NOT want a Chihuahua or any mix thereof. Even though we had gone to the shelter "just to look" and "consider" a companion for our sweet, oh-so-obedient mutt.
I caved.
And lived to regret it.
She was sweet, I'll give you that. But she barked.
And barked.
And barked.
Oh, and she left "presents" on the carpet. In my husband's closet.
That really helped his bonding with her.
Ahem.
We bought "scat mats" that would keep her in the kitchen on the hardwoods, which worked. But it also kept our older, oh-so-obedient mutt in the kitchen which seemed not quite fair.
But the little dog was sweet, I'll give you that.
For two years she lived here, until she apparently decided to become the neighborhood terrorist.
She began escaping daily, roaming the street and barking at every. single. person. who walked in front of our house. We would try to catch her, and she would just run farther and faster.
She came home eventually, but I'm sure our neighbors hated us.
Finally, I approached a friend who has a wide network of acquaintances. I asked her to let me know if she knows ANYONE who would want
She called me at 8am the next morning.
The new owners picked her up at 1pm that afternoon!
A sweet young mom and her son had lost their dog to cancer. Their dog looked identical to
I was so happy.
The kids were not so happy.
But a few days later my friend was here with pictures and stories...and would you believe that dog has not had one single accident in their apartment??
We tried for TWO STINKING YEARS to housebreak that dog and she goes to their apartment and is an absolute angel!
It was meant to be, right?
Oh, and the kids got over it because our sweet oh-so-obedient dog can now sleep in their rooms again and awakens me every morning with a lick on my fingers and a cold nose against my arm.
Word to the wise. Don't buy puppies unless you can commit to their training! We have now learned a big lesson...older dogs are already trained and their personalities established. Our older dog came home at four years old and she has been the best dog we've ever had. She is a joy. A family like ours, with lots of kids, just does not have the time to invest in intense training. We will get another friend for our older dog soon, but no more puppies...not in this family!
Between the fish, the hermit crab, the guinea pigs, and five kids I would say we have plenty of excitement around here! I do not need anything else with energy to spare...just a nice, calm companion who will lay at my feet and snore.
Which is exactly what my sweet Mags is doing right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Let's keep the conversation going...