Rascal, you are one lucky dog.

This is my darling almost 10 year old boy.  He loves animals more than anyone I know.



Holding a bunny at the fair "please can we take it home?"

 With his lizard, Spike. 

Searching for frogs  at Bear Lake...

He currently has two parakeets and the above mentioned lizard.  These have sufficed, but all he really really wants in the whole world is.... a dog.

He reminds me of the boy in a book from my childhood, "Too Many Bozos".

 This boy begs for a dog.  He wants to name it Bozo.  His mother insists that they not have a dog.  And so, he brings home a frog that gets in mom's sudsy sink, an ant farm that releases its tenants (ha ha no pun intended!), and a little white mouse that eats the beautifully prepared chocolate cake.  He names them all Bozo.  After all of these pet disasters, the mother is ready to relent.



We have had a dog before.

One lovely June day, I thought I'd surprise the children and take them to the circus.  I was so excited as we drove there.  I didn't tell them where we were going.  The anticipation mounted as we got closer to our destination.  "What are we doing, mom?", they would ask, and I would excitedly tell them that they would soon find out. 
Well, find out we did, when we drove to the fairgrounds, only to discover that the circus was not there that day!  I was so sad, and so were they, upon finding out that their surprise was an empty field.

It was then that I made one of the stupidest decisions of my life.

I took my sad kids to a pet store. 

There, in one of the windows, was an adorable, tiny, curly-haired black dachsund puppy.  It looked up at me with its brown eyes and said "take me home".  And after not enough thought (I think I researched the breed for all of 15 minutes) and NOT EVEN TALKING TO MY HUSBAND ABOUT IT   I forked out way too much money and announced to the children that we had a new puppy to take home! 

We named her Lucy and loved her loved her loved her and played with her and let her sleep in the children's beds (usually Saxton's bed) and took her on walks. 

 She was absolutely darling.  When she wasn't peeing on my carpet.  Or pooping on my carpet.  Or chewing up a library book.  Or whining about going potty in the cold. 

So after a few months of protecting my 5 month old baby from her and shampooing carpets over and over again, I was ready to admit that I had made a silly choice in bringing a puppy into our family and I needed to sell her.  I was approached by several people about buying her, but only when I knew the family was local and would take good care of her and my children could maybe continue to see her did I go through with it.  I considered it serendipitous when the garbage man drove past me as I was walking her and stopped to say, "I have always wanted a pup just like that.  Where did you find it?"  The deal was as good as done at that point, and I felt good about passing her on. 

But of course Saxton didn't.  

I don't know that I've ever seen a more broken hearted child.  He did not want to release her.

So for two years, all he has wanted was another dog.  And I, like the mother in the book, have emphatically said NO.

Cory has explained to me that I just didn't pick the right kind of dog.  That he, who had several dogs as a child, gets to pick the next one.

And that's what we did today.  We went to the adoption agency and chose a very mild old dog who is house trained and who is as gentle as a lamb.  We paid for him and needed to leave him there, because he has to go have a little surgery before he can come to our house.

I had a little talk with Rascal before I left.  I told him that he is so very lucky, because he is going to have my Saxton for a best friend.  And just talking to that dog in the shelter about my boy made me cry.  I think he'll be a good one.

 

Saxton will get a dog for his 10th birthday.  I'll let you know how it goes.