Dia de los perros
I mulled everyone's advice, thought about the pros and cons of adding another dog to our household, loaded up the kids and went to the animal shelter.
My mission: find a young-adult dog with a track record of doing well with kids and other critters. There were dozens of dogs, of course, including one yellow lab who was too sweet. But he was enormous. He could literally rest his chin on Hurricanehead's head and he looked like he would be 90 - 100 pounds once he got filled out on a good diet. If I'd known anything about his background or if he'd been smaller I would've taken him. But he'd come in as a stray so there was no history on him. I didn't want to take a blind chance on such a large dog but I sure hope someone takes him home.
I was struck by how many of the dogs were pit bulls or pit-bull crosses, including some that simply had to be accidents: chihuahua-pit, lab-pit. A lab-pit cross seems to me like the worst idea ever -- a goofy, mouthy dog with a death-grip jaw. You pet him, dude.
And oddly, there were several Great Pyrenees. Every last one looked like it was patiently waiting to expire in its long hair in the sweltering Texas heat. I was seized with the desire to shear them like sheep, they looked so uncomfortable.
Against my better judgment we went into the puppy room, where I promptly got hooked on a little 11-week-old lab-shepherd mutt. I did not want to do the puppy thing again -- the chewing, the nipping, the yapping. But this little guy was so energetic that I knew he'd be a good companion for Dogzilla and the rest of us. Plus, he has really small paws, which I'm hoping means he won't blow up to 70 pounds.
Dogzilla took to him right away, and except for one belly-nipping incident, Perrito has been good with the kids. Likes baths, doesn't mind claw-clipping, already figured out where to do his bidness. So far, so good. And Dogzilla? She's so exhausted from playing that I couldn't even get her to fetch. Laundry has flapped unmolested on the line all afternoon. Dog bless America.
My mission: find a young-adult dog with a track record of doing well with kids and other critters. There were dozens of dogs, of course, including one yellow lab who was too sweet. But he was enormous. He could literally rest his chin on Hurricanehead's head and he looked like he would be 90 - 100 pounds once he got filled out on a good diet. If I'd known anything about his background or if he'd been smaller I would've taken him. But he'd come in as a stray so there was no history on him. I didn't want to take a blind chance on such a large dog but I sure hope someone takes him home.
I was struck by how many of the dogs were pit bulls or pit-bull crosses, including some that simply had to be accidents: chihuahua-pit, lab-pit. A lab-pit cross seems to me like the worst idea ever -- a goofy, mouthy dog with a death-grip jaw. You pet him, dude.
And oddly, there were several Great Pyrenees. Every last one looked like it was patiently waiting to expire in its long hair in the sweltering Texas heat. I was seized with the desire to shear them like sheep, they looked so uncomfortable.
Against my better judgment we went into the puppy room, where I promptly got hooked on a little 11-week-old lab-shepherd mutt. I did not want to do the puppy thing again -- the chewing, the nipping, the yapping. But this little guy was so energetic that I knew he'd be a good companion for Dogzilla and the rest of us. Plus, he has really small paws, which I'm hoping means he won't blow up to 70 pounds.
Dogzilla took to him right away, and except for one belly-nipping incident, Perrito has been good with the kids. Likes baths, doesn't mind claw-clipping, already figured out where to do his bidness. So far, so good. And Dogzilla? She's so exhausted from playing that I couldn't even get her to fetch. Laundry has flapped unmolested on the line all afternoon. Dog bless America.
Dogzilla (r) and Perrito in a rare moment of rest
Labels: critters
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