Don't ask me why, but we decided somehow that we didn't have enough responsibility and unruly charges in our life, so meet "Piper," a 7 week old female Jack Russel pup we just added to our wildly unpredictable family.
That makes six of us (counting the two pooches). Even numbers are good, right?
About three years ago, I had gotten it in my head that we needed another dog, that our one year old son needed a dog, and that is how we ended up with Teach... Teach was a sweet little lab-mix rescue pup full of happy dogness and sad little puppy eyes that would melt your soul. He was smart, too smart for his own good, had a very sweet disposition, and was full of boundless energy. The vet had predicted that he would be a small to medium sized dog. The vet was wrong.
Teach grew and grew and and grew. Poor obnoxious, destructive mutt -- the kids were afraid of him and our geriatric canine, Morgan, had not the patience for his endless shenanigans, so he was lonely and spent a great deal of time entertaining himself by eating our house and playing tug-o-war with the garden hose. He ate toys and potting soil, the railings off of our deck, siding off the house, shoes, phones, pens, knives, books, clothing, and anything else left carelessly within his great reach. And he barked his deep baritone bark, a lot, and the neighbors complained, constantly. Poor pain in the ass. He really wanted to be a good dog and he was deep down, but he just couldn't help himself. *Sigh*
It broke my heart to have to find him a new home (I've never given up on any animal I ever took in - from turtles, birds, cats, mice, ducks, possums or dogs... yes, I even raised possums). No worries though, Teach has a very happy ending: friends of a friend who had a rambunctious, energetic wild thing themselves were looking for a companion... and when Teach met Zoe, he had truly found his soul mate. They raced around our yard like maniacs and wrestled and tumbled and ran some more. When it was time to go, Teach had his mind made up already and wild horses couldn't have stopped him in his unbridled excitement; he didn't even look back when he left us. --And Morgan, well, she was just happy to have her quiet, uneventful days returned to her.
Speaking of Morgan, oh, the look of betrayal on her face when we brought this puppy home said clearly, "I cannot believe you are doing this to me again." Don't worry, I told her, this one won't get so big and you can still be the Alpha dog.
So far so good!
"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."
...Sir Winston Churchill
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