Sweet Daisy

This is a long wordy post with a lot of searching and feeling.... I won't be offended if you can't make it to the end. I don't think I ever want to read it again lol.

So, we picked up this adorable Bichon on Sunday. It's owner has to go into an assisted living environment and cannot take her along. We've talked about getting a dog again several times and always talked ourselves out of it. We've been without a pet for almost 17 years. We had Chrissy, a little pekeapoo for 18 years and she was a perfect pet. She didn't mess in the house, didn't bark, she let us pet her when we wanted and left us alone at other times. Yes, she would be hard, if not impossible, to replace.

Through the years we tried two times. Once we got a shitzu from my nephew and it was very aggressive with us. Come to find out he was acquiring diabetes and my nephew took him back and they nursed him to the end... daily shots and the works. Another time we picked up a weird little dog from the pound. It's owner had gotten tired of him and instead of a peaceful transition to a final resting place they chose to pass him on to another unsuspecting owner to try to deal with. He had dominance issues and humped everything in sight as well and leaving his scent on everything in the house. Yup, didn't work.

So here we are, we picked up Daisy early Sunday and went to our Son and DIL's for the day. Daisy was a good little traveller, jumping from the front to back seats and back. She finally settled in MM's lap while he drove. We're thinking that since she came from a home with a single lady she's used to sitting on the drivers lap and we went along with the old program. Once I looked around and saw nose prints on all the windows lol. Okay, I can get used to that. I got a little concerned when she started scratching at the windows... they have a tinting film on the inside and it probably won't hold up to that kind of abuse. We'll work on that.

She was great with other animals and the kids. We had one scare when I thought she bit Muffin. Daisy was hiding behind me in the chair trying to escape Jake trying to entice her to play with him. Muffin came up and tried to give her her sippy cup. I said "No, Muffin don't give the dog your juice." The next thing I know Muffin is crying and I thought "what's going on?" Then I saw two puncture wounds on her hand and I freaked out. Did the dog somehow bite her without my knowing? You would think I would have heard or felt something. The dog was right behind me. DIL says 'no, those are from her IV last week at the hospital'. WHEW!!! Muffin was just upset because I said 'no' and she was a little tired. Note to self.... don't say 'no' to the grandkids. What was I thinking lol. I love those girls. They are the best!!

Back to the dog. We fed and watered her when we got home and settled into the evening. Oh, back up. We sat on the porch for a while and she was great. She only barked once at a squirrel or a bird or something. As the evening wound down we decided to go to bed. We got a little pillow for her and put it on the floor next to the bed. You guessed it. She's used to sleeping on the bed lol. We could hear her walking around as her little nails tap tapped against the hardwood floors. A couple of times she came to my side and reached up to me. I just pet her and said 'go lay down' and she did. There was even a very bad storm that night that the thunder was so loud that it shook the house. She was great through all of that. We found her in the morning on the loveseat in the livingroom.

Morning came and MM found a wet spot in the main bathroom on the rug. She was trained with 'piddle pads' because the lady couldn't always let her out. Hence, the pads. Not a good thing. And I think this breed does have some trouble with potty training as a general rule. When I got home MM was not happy. He said she followed him everywhere and just whined. She wants to be held and petted all the time. lol I'm laughing because it's him and not me. :) And he's telling me 'we made a big mistake, we're too set in out ways for this'. Once while he was carrying a big log to the fire pit she got tangled up with him and he almost dropped the log on her... not a good thing. And when he'd leave her in the house she would scratch at the door to get out and when she wants in she scratches at the door. She doesn't bark when she wants something, she whines and scratches. I didn't think too much of it til she started scratching at the cupboards. Pretty sure people don't declaw dogs lol.

So, we're in a definite dilemma. Do we keep this adorable dog and see what we can do with her. We're thinking of putting the screen on the front and back doors, but that's not going to be pretty. And what about travelling? I'm sure she'll handle the driving okay, but what about the screen door and the window treatments? And then again, the occasional piddle on the carpet? Ugh!? Last night at church I found myself not paying attention to the sermon at all, I was just praying about our situation. No answer came to me. She slept on the loveseat and chair in the living room last night and was quiet most of the night. I only heard her walking around our room once.

I emailed the daughter that we got her from last night and said I wasn't sure how this was working out. Her response was very sweet. "I'm glad I can take her back if it doesn't work out. Let me know." Her feelings were about the same as ours. The dog is so sweet. Her husband was very attached, but she was the one that had to take care of her... and she's 'needy'. And as a daughter that just went through all that this lady is going through I feel for her. She's so busy with her Mom and then to have to deal with the situation of the dog too.

And she is adorable isn't she?



So, I've left it up to MM. If she's not there when I get home I'll understand. If she is still there then we'll work on her few issues. If we're ever going to get another dog this is probably the best fit. I keep saying "she's just so sweet" and she is.

I've tried to examine why we even thought we wanted a dog. Like I said, we've been without one for many years. Was it so the grandkids would have a little pet at our house? They have pets at home. Was it to keep us company? We really are comfortable just the two of us. The correct answer is probably to give a needy pet a home, but I don't think I'm that generous. Maybe we really aren't pet people. I've examined that too. My Dad was a dog person. Of course, he couldn't relate to people very well. When I was in my 30's I contacted him and thought "why didn't you love me like that?" lol. He just didn't know how. But he sure knew how to show affection to the dogs :). Guess I'm just as human as the next person, I always want what I don't have and when I get it I realize that I really didn't want it that much to begin with. Frustrating. No one can solve this for us. We'll have to do a lot of soul searching and decide what's best for us. Daisy is so adorable this is not the last chance for her. If we don't keep her she'll find a very loving home. She is just that adorable and 'sweet'. Did I say that a lot? But she is, she is just so 'sweet'.