This last weekend we finally made the plunge and rescued a dog. Because our daughter had been asking for a dog since she was four, we’d been researching breeds for some time to get an idea of which ones would be good for our expectations. I really didn’t want an overly excitable dog, or a large bread dog. With the kids, being as young as they are, we obviously need to find a dog that’s good with kids and never shows any signs of aggression. Plus, if we could somehow accomplish finding a dog that’s already house broken and kennel trained then we’d be perfect.
During our research, Lena came across a great site called Petfinder.com where rescuers can post about the dogs they have available. While going through the site we contacted a rescuer about a certain dog, only to find out the dog had been primarily raise outdoors. However, the rescuer did have a medium sized Blue Heeler, Beagle mix that had all the traits that we were hoping for. While one would think that those two breeds together would result in an excitable dog, the rescuer described exactly the opposite. So, that weekend we headed for the other side of the DFW area to pick up the new family dog:
Petey
So far, Petey has been absolutely wonderful. He’s just a calm, easy, silly dog that loves attention. We were really worried at first that there would be some grief between the cats and Petey, but even they’ve gotten along quite well. We’re still working on some adjustment issues with eating and water, but we’re pretty confident that it will pass as time goes by.
I think this is going to be really good for the kids, because we’re trying to make this an educational experience in responsibility. The cats haven’t ever really had too much of an impression in that area, because it’s fairly easy to give them food and water every day. It’s another thing to have to walk the dog every day, and make sure he’s had an opportunity to go to the bathroom regularly. I guess I could have the kids take care of the kitty litter, but I really prefer not having poo on the walls.
Either way, Petey has been pretty good so far, and I believe that we’ve made an excellent decision by adopting him. I’m really looking forward to the new chapter in our family’s book as we add Petey to the family.