Personal Misdemeanor

This blog has been primarily about the new dog in our lives and how he is a felon in the court of law ruled over by Me. This has lead many to believe this dog is in risk of losing his life and/or housing at any given moment. Despite all my bluster- and legitimate complaints- this is not true. No matter how many times I tell him "I will open the front door and wish you well, buddy" there is never a chance I would actually ever do that. In reality. In my dreams, maybe, given a bad day.

In all honesty, Odie isn't that bad a kid. He has a special knack for doing really bizarre, and creative, things that make me scream on a fairly regular basis, but he could (and has been ) a LOT worse. Don't worry though- as long as he retains this special skill for bizarre-ness, I will log it and report in.

Today's entry isn't so much about him though. It's more about me. And something I decided to do recently. With the loving support of my co-conspiritor: the husband (otherwise known as Odie's The Boy) who encouraged every step of this decision making process. I feel the need to mention that now, as he occasionally has maybe second guessed it since.

What I did, I actually am proud of, with only moments of regret about 3x a day. Sometimes those moments are longer, sometimes they are brief. Again, even with moments of " what the hell is going on here?" I promise to never open the front door and wish anyone well. Other then house guests who are leaving anyway.

So, what is all this about?

We rescued a second dog.

yep.

I know.

Sounds insane, given everything.

This time it was different though. It was planned out (to an extent) and carefully considered (to a nauseating fault) and it was my choice all the way around.

We happened into our new girl, Piper, while at a humane society to meet some other dogs. Those other dogs were either not there or very clearly the wrong match for us from the first moment I laid eyes on them. So we wandered around, and loved on anyone who wanted some, and considered a few candidates who took us by surprise. As we were about to leave, I stopped and said- I think I wanted to go back and look at one of the dogs in the back for some reason. So we went to the back and saw a dog who hadn't been there earlier, and we were both very mildly drawn to her.

The rest of the story is involved, but basically it ends in the fact that 3 days later this very dog was in our house. She had been given a new name (thanks to my friend AG, who came up with it) and had a new brother who was quite literally half her size. That was last week. Since then, I have learned the harsh lesson that not only will Piper NOT be a calming influence on Odie, but I now have a second felon in my house.

Crap.

Not the intent at all.

What I can hope for now is that the humans in this scenario find some sort of zen, and learn more about training a high energy Mid-sized dog. I also hope that the dogs form a gang of their own and learn to exert the energy they both have amongst themselves. 'Cause that was a lot of the point of getting s second dog- providing an energy burn/ bestie for the first dog- making him happier, and us more able to move about the cabin as we saw fit.

Life throws stuff at you, no matter how well you think you've planned, or what factors you've taken into consideration. The best you can do is change your plan when that stuff lands, and trust in yourself from there. I had planned on finding a second dog who would be more of what I thought I wanted. Instead I brought home a dog who LOOKED like what I wanted, but mainly was just a different version of fuzzy thunder in my house. It'll be frustrating, and tiring, and challenging. It will also be fun, and silly, and joyful. I will regret making life more complicated, but I will also enjoy the comedy that ensues whenever you have 2 animals running amok. There will be more crimes committed- only now there will be a choice to be made over who gets blamed for it.

Right now, the blame is all on me. I did this to us. I brought her home, our femme fatale. I committed this crime to our family. I'm not sure if anyone (other then my husband who lets them out in the morning and after work) has decided it's a terrible crime. Jury is still out on that part of it.

**sidenote- both of the dogs currently in our house would be dead right now if a law is overturned in California. They both exceeded the proposed time limit by leaps and bounds, and we never would have found them. It's hard enough for innocent animals to find their way out of the shelters here, taking time away from them makes it even less likely for that to happen. To find out more, read this: http://www.animallawcoalition.com/public-shelters/article/952

or research on your own.

Thanks for giving me my 10 seconds on a soap box.