If the Fates decree
I am feeling somewhat ambivalent.
I have done something that may or may not have very long lasting consequences, and I’m still not sure whether I should have done it. Or not, as the case may be.
For some time now Herself has been on at me to get another dog or a cat. The cat bit I can ignore and come up with loads of excuses why not.
The dog bit is a bit harder. Her argument is that I am very attached to Penny and if anything should happen to her, that I would be devastated. There is an element of truth there but I reckon that Penny has a few miles left on the clock yet, even if she’s costing me a fortune in pills, Calpol [yes – kids analgesic – I was surprised too] and monthly injections.
Arguments in favour of another dog….
It would give a dog a warm[ish] loving home for the rest of its days.
It would soften the blow if anything happened to Penny.
It might [or might not] give Penny someone nearing her own kind for a bit of companionship and might show her there is more to life than sleeping and the odd pee in the garden.
Arguments against….
Bang goes the chance of a holiday in the foreseeable future – two dogs plus luggage plus Herself in the car? Nah. I suppose I could leave Herself at home though?
Penny mightn’t be too happy at an interloper in her domain. She’s not pushed about other dogs and gets bored of them easily.
Fucking expensive.
It’s tricky enough bringing Penny for a walk as she keeps tripping me up or has to be dragged away from an interesting pee/poo. Two dogs together would be a double handful.
Anyhows, the subject had cropped up again recently what with Penny’s health problems and once again I had put a stop to it. I don’t want another dog. But I looked up a website just out of curiosity to see the kind of rescued dog looking for a home. The very first one that popped up was a beauty. A female Lurcher, a couple of years old and looking for a quiet home with no kids [and preferably with an existing dog for company]. I shut off the laptop.
Daughter was here last week and she started telling me to get another dog. I laughed it off and said there was no chance. But to show her I wasn’t dismissing the suggestion altogether I showed her the Lurcher.
It’s fate, she shouted! She’s a great believer in fate apparently. Her theory is that Fate had brought that Lurcher to my attention and that it had chosen me [assuming it has Interweb connections?]. She told me I had to apply to adopt it. I pointed out that the picture had been there for a while and the dog had probably already settled into a new home somewhere. She was having none of it. She has decided that’s the dog for me and I have to apply to adopt.
*sigh*
That evening I filled out the form. It’s long and very detailed and they even wanted photographs of my estate. I paused before sending it. Then purely as a test of Daughter’s theories I sent it.
I have to wait now. If Fate has determined that I have a new dog, then so be it. But if that particular dog is no longer available, then that’s it. The Fates have spoken.
End of story.
I believe in fate where pets are concerned. All my cats found me!
Just as Penny found us!
Aren’t the fates 3 scantily clad Greacian birds from antiquity? What do they know about GD’s need for a dog?
Some say they know all our desires. Others say they know what we deserve?
Lurchers are lovely, have friends who have adopted. We rescued two greyhounds, (amongst) many dogs and cats we gave homes to, young and old.
If it happens, you know what to do, introduce gradually, see how it goes.
Welcome Yve! I am now a convert when it comes to Lurchers, Whippets and Greyhounds. Penny [Lurcher/Collie Cross] is the most loyal and trusting dog I have ever known [and I’ve known a few].
By the way – I did notice your icon!
OK this is not going to be a feel good comment but it’s just my opinion. Please don’t block me Grandad because I’m not trying to be malicious and I would miss you terribly. Getting another dog before Penny crosses the rainbow bridge is like getting engaged to someone before your husband passes away. I’ve had, and lost dogs, and I needed a period of grieving before I could even consider getting another one. Anyhow, any dog would be lucky to be chosen to be a part of your family.
Why on earth would I block you? I only block trolls and you are definitely not in that category.
Yes, that had crossed my mind. I have been going through all the pros and cons and that one certainly is in the list. However it might be nice, and indeed good, for Penny to have a companion. It could give her a whole new lease of life. I have no doubt that she would feel a little jealous at times but that would be up to me to reassure her and to teach her to share. When Daughter’s dogs visit she gets on well with them until she gets bored of them, whereupon she takes to her bed and watches from a distance.
Some years ago a cat found me. It was a few month’s old kitten. My neighbour’s elderly cat brightened up no end. Our cat flaps opened and closed faster than the door to number Ten as they scurried from house to house. The pair of them scrapped like sugared up kids and hunted together as well as haunting me.
Yes, lurchers, greyhounds and whippets are great. Staffies too. Best of all that I’ve known have been the “half terrier, half fox, half something else” types 🙂
And of course, guinea pigs too, esp for kids: they don’t bite, don’t scratch and don’t last too long. And, like groundhogs, they can predict climate 😉
Guinea Pigs are great fun apart from them shitting all the time. Snails leave a trail of slime; Guinea Pigs leave a trail of shit. The best fun we had was with two Guinea Pigs and a Rough Collie. The latter used to herd then neatly into a corner and then wash them until all their hear stuck up.
“I don’t want another dog.”
Maybe a time of rest without a dog is appropriate, if & when Penny dies.
Just humans, for a while.
There is something very empty about a house without a dog. For as long as I can remember there has always been at least one in the house. The longest ‘dry’ period was after our last Sandy died when we had two weeks of mourning. Penny lifted us out of that immediately. I often think of Sandy but don’t love Penny any the less.