Double edged sword

Ever get yourself into a situation where you are damned if you do and damned if you don't?

We're in one now. It's a small one - not a very big deal, but yet, we're in one.

We were a two-dog household. Our chow-chow came up to Michigan shortly after Aaron did in 2002. He was fine being the only dog. But we had to go and mess everything up, and get a second dog in 2005. Mackenzie. This ridiculous idea was discussed that we should be a two-dog household. I was younger and stupider then. I had no firm grasp on how reality dictates that we all have limitations to our capabilities.

Anyhow. Hurley, our beloved Chow, passed away last October. He was 16 years old. This is ancient for a Chow. Evidence of a good long life.

The addition that hit the household in 2005 has not recovered. We gave her weeks, then we gave her months. She's a Shepherd. A herding dog. Who had never ever to our knowledge been the "only dog" in her household before Hurley died. If we leave for too long? And she's home alone? Diarrhea for four days minimum. If we leave twice for too long in that four days? Diarrhea in the house.

She's 140 lbs. Imagine the mess.

There are so many things that have come to pass and given way to an easier, less stressful lifestyle. We no longer have to watch Kenz when she goes outside, despite having no fence. She never leaves. In fact, if you forget about her out there, which I often do, she'll whine at the back door and eventually make her way around to the front, hoping you might notice her there.

She has no desire to wander, only to be where her humans are.

And here's the problem. I need to go back to work the minute someone gives me an offer. I'm hoping to go back to school in May for a doctorate. Aaron works full time, of course, and also goes to school full time. In a matter of months, we'll be in a situation where we both have 14+ hour days, with stops home in the middle of work and school, and every time we come home, there will be a mess to deal with. Also, our dog will be miserable.

Sounds like an easy problem to solve, right? Get her a friend. I wish it were that easy. We are finally in an amazing place, where our one single dog fits in the back fo the jeep. We not only can run off and go camping, but we have extra seats in the vehicle too, for friends, or stuff, or eventually a carseat. Another dog changes all of that. We may have no choice but to put a fence up, stat. And that costs money. Food costs money. Vet bills cost money.

So we either take the financial risk and get another dog, or we take the risk of making our poor dog more lonely and more miserable and ruining our laminate floors. Getting rid of Mackenzie is not an option. She's family, and we love her.

Of the choices we have it seems best to get another dog, although I use the term "best" loosely. And, if we are going to introduce a new dog into the family, best to do it while someone is home all the time. How would we possibly change direction and bring home a dog when we are both working and going to school? That wouldn't work. We'd be in a world of trouble if we got to that point and didn't have things resolved somehow.

So over the weeks we've discussed that a dog will find us when the time is right. Someone who needs a home and fits into our family.

We went to the St. Patty's Day parade downtown, and Aaron was enamored by the Wolfhounds. He used to have one named Bob. A mix, actually, but quite a bit of him was Wolfhound. He really did have a fight with a real wolf at one time, and won, but that is a story for another day. Bob was a great dog. One of Aaron's favorites for sure.

So Aaron got home from the parade and spent some time over the following days reading up on the breed and whether or not there is a rescue spot locally that takes them when they need to be adopted out to new homes. There were none locally. No special rescues he could find. And, they only live approximately 8 years. The loss of Hurley is so fresh still that the idea of only having a dog for half the time that he had Hurley is inconceivable. The Wolfhound idea was put to rest.

And then, out of nowhere, an e-mail came in about a dog that needed a home. We get lots of these, and try to facilitate and pass this info around as much as possible. But this one sounded really interesting. This dog is a runner. He has his own champion chip. His owner runs 10K races with him. It's a male, which works, because we have a very alpha female, and another female would surely be problematic.

This dog is about Hurley's size.

And, it's a wolfhound mix. It has the same wirey fur and frisky look to him that Bob had.

He's been to puppy school and graduated. Fully trained. Knows over 25 commands. Two and a half years old - so he's still got a bit of puppy in him and will be resilient to the move.

Aaron brought it up somewhat gently. I thought it would pass. But he talked about the dog for two and a half days. I finally called. We're going to meet him today. His humans are moving back to Europe, and this guy can't go with them. He's free to a good home.

We're packing Mackenzie up in the Jeep and taking her out to meet this dog. They don't live close. We're all going to have a nice walk and see how the two animals interact. I have a feeling it will go very well, and we'll end up with this dog. It's a risk. But so is leaving Mackenzie alone and going back to work eventually. If the dog works out I'll just have to pray extra hard that I get a job sooner than later. Or, even better, that the darn condo sells in the next couple months. I can't ever remember having this much to pray for at one time. It's exhausting.

Wordless Wednesday post