Well, I finally caved. For years my kids have been asking for a dog and for years I have said that I just don't think I have the time or energy to commit to taking responsibility for one more thing. But recently my boyfriend convinced me that having a dog would help the kids learn about repsonsibility and also appreciate animals, so we started
researching online about dog breeds and looking at petfinder.com for dogs to adopt. We desided that we would look for a smallish, non- or low-shedding 1-2 year old dog that we could rescue from a shelter. But ideally, I also wanted a dog that could go running with me on the trails near where I live.
We started visiting shelters a couple of weeks ago, which was incredibly sad and difficult. Most of the dogs were abandoned pitbulls or dogs with aggression problems or much older dogs. Not exactly what we were looking for. I researched the popular poodle hybrids and thought about getting on one of the poodle rescue lists.
But yesterday we visited the North Shore Animal League and in among the many pooches, we found a four-month old pup who was NOT AT ALL what we were looking for, but who had the sweetest, calmest disposition of any dog I have ever seen. We hemmed and hawed as we cuddled up with this "Cantella" hound (she may be part beagle, part pointer, part lab, part setter, we just can't tell-a!), walked around the shelter, discussed the pros and cons, and thought maybe...
And the rest is history. We brought Maybe Mabel home last night and have spent the day getting to know her. She really is the sweetest dog I've ever met. We took her up to the trails this morning and she ran a little, walked a little, and even went off the leash a little but stayed right by my side, even after thinking about chasing some cyclists.
This afternoon we went to visit a neighbor for a half hour and came home to discover Mabel had let herself out of the crate (maybe I hadn't actually latched it?)... There she was curled up on her favorite spot on the couch... I searched the house for chewed up shoes, furniture gnaws, stray poop, anything. But this perfect little pooch left no damage. She's just so happy to have a home.
So what can I say. Maybe she WAS exactly the dog we were looking for.
1. Having a pet is fine. It's rewarding.
The best answer, though, is becoming a Christian and following God's direction. This is especially important in childhood. Our soul, the living part of the human body, follows the best "marching orders" with this in place.
Mel Everingham at 11:04PM on Mar 8th 2007