Told You So

I really hate it when Jim is right about things. And a couple of times now in our 17+ years together I've had to let him know it. He never thought getting a dog was a good idea. He was against it from the start. I think his words to me were something along the lines of "you're crazy".

Yep. I was crazy.

Jimmy really wanted a dog and had been pestering us for years to get one. At the time it seemed like a good idea. Jimmy was old enough now and I thought we were being a little anal by not letting him get one. It's every boy's wish and dream to have a dog. You know man's best friend and all and I actually thought it would be a good learning experience for Jimmy for two reasons: 1.) He'd learn responsibility and 2.) He'd learn how to care and love something.

I thought I was so smart by agreeing to first "foster" the dog to make sure it was a good idea and not so crazy. Jim agreed fostering first was a good idea. We could take a few weeks to see how the dog fit in and how responsible Jimmy was with him. We wanted to make sure Jimmy knew how much work it was to have a dog and make sure the dog was good around the Doodle.

Things were going swimmingly with the new member of the family. Even Coco the cat seemed ok with it. At first Jimmy paid lots of attention to him. And, at first the dog could be off his leash and stay around the house outside without taking off. Both things changed and maybe they were somehow related. The less attention Jimmy would pay to him the more bored he got and the more exploring he wanted to go do. He would take off and go next door and chase the goats and chickens...and when we'd call him to come back, he'd stop and look at us like he was saying F&%k you. The other night he was gone all night long, he came back in the morning but all night I worried. He'd only come back when he wanted to.

He started having to be on his leash constantly. We didn't want him getting shot next door by the mean farmer or having the Humane Society called and have to pay a fine either. He was always chained up and what kind of life is that for a dog? We considered building a dog run and then I thought that's just as bad as having him chained up. Here we live in doggy heaven on 22 acres of area for a dog to roam and we can't unchain him and keep him safe because he keeps taking off. The dog became harder and harder and just one more thing to worry about. And Jimmy got tired of having to take care of something every day. And I work full time and have the Doodle to worry about and I didn't want to have to take care of one more thing.

So we said goodbye to Jesse today. A nice young couple with no kids and a fenced yard came and adopted him. It was a little sad but hopefully Jesse will be happier and Jimmy and I have certainly learned a lesson.