Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Timing is Everything

There's a picture on the wall of the teacher workroom. A photo. Two. Kind of like a "Wanted" poster. What's wanted is a new home for a little doggie. I would love to have this new pet, what with the passing of our baying beagle Tank (BY NATURAL MEANS, PEOPLE!) last weekend.

I know I shouldn't inquire about this little beauty, even though the phone number is right there on the wanted poster. It's too soon. I can't scoop up a replacement pet on the rebound. That's not fair to the new pet. Or the old. Besides, I don't think Hick would okay it at this time. Maybe during the summer, we can keep an eye out for the local pound puppies advertised in the Backroads Hometown Gazette. We've been a three-dog family for many years now. But this is not the time.

Smiling at the camera in that wanted poster is a 5-month-old Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix. Uh huh. Kind of a high-energy companion. We have the room for her to run, but we also have chickens that we would like to keep alive. I fear that this doggie would be unsupervised all day, and have a heyday with our fowl. It was hard enough to keep my sweet, sweet Juno from chasing chickens she was raised with from when she was a tiny pup. She still grabs them by the tail feathers when she is feeling especially frisky, and forgets we have a picture window overlooking the front yard. Only last fall we found that pile of turkey feathers and feared the worst.

Doggie on the wall has her shots. I'm not sure, but I think she's had her special operation. She has a mostly black body, with that white stripe down her nose common to those two breeds. And she looks perky! Yep! Who woulda thunk a pup of that mix would be perky? The description goes on to say that she knows some commands, and IS HOUSEBROKEN! Who would keep a dog like that in the house? Not a china shop owner who stores inventory at home, I'm sure! I could imagine her as a playmate for my sweet, sweet Juno, but the timing is not right.

As if seeing this beauty on the wall yesterday was not enough...this morning before school a colleague at the Kyocera saw her, too. "What a cute little dog! But I couldn't keep it. I don't have the room. As it is now, we're trying to find a home for our beagle. We let her out to run, but she needs a big open space to run rabbits. She's had her operation. She's getting up there in years. Someone dumped her at our house. She's very loving. The problem is, she can climb the chain-link fence. Oh, she always comes back. But she's taught our other mutt to do it, too. And he comes back, but he brings things! Yesterday he had one of those solar powered driveway lights that stick in the ground. I'm afraid someone is going to complain."

No. I can't have a beagle, either. It's too soon. I'm sure there will be plenty of puppies needing homes over the summer.

6 comments:

  1. I think that pup would herd the chickens, not hurt them, but you are probably right it is too soon...still...

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  2. I had a dog in Alaska who swiped everything, the worst being a bra off the neighbor's clothes line.

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  3. Val--I'm sorry for your loss. Losing a pet is hard.

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  4. Kinda makes you wonder what you were thinking when you decided it would be nice to bring home a little pink baby. What were my parents thinking? They already had a three-year-old!

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  5. That type of mix in a puppy is sure to create a very active dog. Too much for MY lifestyle but you do lead an active life.

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  6. joeh,
    Juno tries to herd people. She pokes her pointy (yet tasty!) nose into the back of a thigh or calf, trying to steer us away from the door when we start into the house. The chickens she chases for sport. Like they're chew toys, to be tossed into the air and chased and re-grabbed.

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    Linda,
    Good thing he's not around to raid my mom's house. There was one on the back of her couch that almost strangled me when I stopped by for a brief rest the other day.

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    Sioux,
    We miss him, but he was so aloof that it hasn't crushed us like parting with our old dog Grizzly several summers ago. Grizzly was the boys' first dog, and lived to the ripe old age of 12. Tank was a gift from the boys' half-brother, The Veteran. He bought him after 3 tours of Iraq, then took a civilian job and realized he didn't have the time to train him. Happy week-before-Christmas present, boys! A baby beagle. He was a cute little thing. We are getting used to being a bi-canine family.

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    Leenie,
    Wait! There's a choice? I wonder if not taking home the baby is frowned upon...like sex on your desk with the cleaning lady.

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    Stephen,
    I would love to bring her home and let her run. But my heart says no.

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