Since I was a child, except for brief respites, there has always been a canine around the house. When I was very young, we always were getting a new puppy, because we lived in the country, next to a state highway, and our dogs were always escaping the confines of the fenced-in back yard, and running away, or meeting their fate, unfortunately, under the wheels of fast-moving vehicles.
We had several breeds, but the one that comes to mind is the Boston Bull Terrier. Cute, loveable, and well behaved. We had two of that breed, one after the other; the first one living over 16 years.
When I married, I talked my new wife into getting a Border Collie. That was a fun dog. Intelligent, again loveable, and a good watch dog. When we moved off the farm and into town, we gave "Brandy" to some friends who lived in the country so she wouldn't have to be confined to our small back yard. She lived a long time, finally succumbing to old age. We then owned a Poodle, who hated me, a Schnauzer who didn't like Kiddo being around, and finally a Pug. The Pug was Tilly's dog from day one. And, strangely enough, about six weeks before Tilly passed away, she decided to find the Pug a new home. She interviewed several families, and finally settled on one. I still think Tilly had a premonition that she was going away.
Since then, I have been dog-less. I keep saying, "I don't want a dog. I don't want the responsibility of house training a puppy. No! No! NO!" But in truth, as I grow older, I think I wouldn't mind having a pooch around. Now, that being said, I am still in the thinking stage. I KNOW that I don't want some tiny, yappy, "wannabe" dog. What I want is a Black Lab. I am thinking a female, who has already been "fixed" and is house trained. I don't want to begin in the puppy stage again. I have new furniture, and carpets and I don't want them ruined, so house-trained is a must. I want a dog who likes to walk with me on a leash. Yes, that might take some training, but I would be okay with that.
The big thing, and this is a big thing, is what to do with said dog when I travel. The last thing I would do to my brother and sister-in-law is take a dog into their home. I fly many of the trips, so taking a dog along would be either out or too costly. As long as Prof is still living with me, she would probably be willing to care for a dog, but she doesn't particularly like dogs, so I would hate to ask her, and Lil Bro has two children, going to school, a home of his own, and a full-time job, so asking him to dog sit is completely out of the question. I have a friend who runs a kennel and k-9 training school in a nearby city who would be more than willing to keep my dog, but that's another expense. So the quandary continues. Do I go ahead and adopt a Black Lab when one comes available, or do I remain dog-less? If I do get a dog, I will name her Bernice!
1 comment:
first time visiting your blog; enjoyed reading some of your entries. I can truly understand your thinking it through if you want another dog or not at this point of your life. We have a much loved spoiled dog who just finished chemo and we are trusting in God whether he is cured, going in a long remission, etc but I do know when we get to the decision regardless of how long we have left with him and have him put down, I know I want a little bit of time without a dog for some of the reasons you listed of not having a dog, travel, etc. We base all our schedules around him; dearly love him but I'm going to want a period of a little flexibility before we decide on another dog or not. I'm sure whatever you decide will be the right decision.
hope the day is a nice one for you
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