Break In The Clouds
WOW. What a whirlwind the last few months has been. It’s literally been non-stop, one big project after the next – very often overlapping. I pushed back (at the expense of possibly losing a new client – but I couldn’t keep it up) and I finally have a little breathing room. I mean, you know it’s bad when you’re thinking to yourself “I wish I could get sick – sick enough that I have to go to the hospital – but not life threatening – just enough so I have a good enough excuse to sleep for even just one solid day.” (I’d say I’d wish for a vacation, but somehow our vacations are never very relaxing. Seriously – a trip to the hospital would be more of a “vacation”)
In any case – I don’t think I mentioned last time – we did get a new puppy. He is an AWESOME dog. If I had any doubts about our decision to bring back Moose – having our new dog is definitely proof. He is so good. So loving. So tolerant. He hangs out in my lap all day while I work. He chases my son around the house (for fun! Not to bite him! LOL!) when he comes home from school. He’s smart. He is the best dog ever. Truly. Have a look:
He is a cairn terrier (like Charlie was) The woman we got him from may want to show and possibly breed him – so we won’t be able to have him fixed right away. If she does decide to breed him, we would have dibs on a one of puppies (which I would seriously consider – the only thing better than a Carin Terrier… is TWO Carin Terriers!!! And certainly if the pup had the same kind of personality!)
Updates on life
Been awhile since I dropped in here. My work has kept me crazy busy. I spoke at Evo Conference – spreading my love of all things WordPress. And… this past weekend we had to bring our puppy back to the breeder we got him from. 
I hadn’t posted much about him – we were dealing with a lot. Aside from the normal craziness that is raising and housebreaking a puppy – he was not healthy from the beginning. He had an EXTREMELY sensitive stomach, and after several hundreds of dollars of various tests – no one could determine exactly why or what was wrong with him. We fed him plenty, but he remained skinny and the food he ate practically flew through one end and out the other so quickly.We finally found a food that he would somewhat tolerate – but it didn’t make things perfect. It was a grain and gluten free, single protein food that had to be rehydrated. Then he had a massive flare up and even that stopped working as well as it once did.
If that wasn’t enough to deal with, the real killer was his aggression. Within the first week of having him here, he growled and snapped at me at a way I’ve never seen a *normal puppy* do. It was bizarre. And no one really believed me that a PUPPY would show aggression like this. They said it was “posturing” not aggression. Ok… so we paid top dollar for a great trainer who whipped us into shape about how to behave and treat the puppy so that he would know we were alpha. We did this for months. The problem began to get worse, not better. He would be sitting in a room – no “triggers” near by (no food, no toys) – he wasn’t sleeping, he’d be wide awake – just hanging out – and my daughter who has always been very gentle with him and respectful of him, would come up to pet him – and for no reason at all he would growl at her. Then my husband – who SURELY he must see as ALPHA in our pack – would come up to him – and again, he would growl at him.
I spoke to another trainer, and they said with all his problems – since we had the option of bringing him back to the breeder – we should take it. This is not the right dog for our family.
Who knows, maybe he needed to be in a bigger house – or a bigger back yard – or he needs other dogs with him to keep him in line. Whatever it is – he didn’t belong with us. It broke our hearts – it wasn’t for lack of love that we brought him back. But I have a responsibility to my family and I have a responsibility to him. However, my family comes first and I was worried about the direction this was headed. I was worried that growl would very soon turn into something more disastrous. I’m glad he’s with the breeder – she’ll take good care of him. Maybe she’ll be able to determine the source of his issues – and then place him in a home that’s more appropriate.
In the meantime – we are once again trying to heal from the loss of a dog. Bad timing too. So close to my daughter’s birthday again when last year we had to say goodbye to our other dog after 12 happy years. And I am on the hunt again for a dog. This time I think we’re going to go with the same breed we had last time and that we are so in love with: a Cairn Terrier or Westie (West Highland Terrier).
Licensed
T
hey’ll give anyone a license to drive in this state!! 😉
Just a Dog
I – for those of you who think I’ve lost my mind with the whole dog thing. LOL!
Just a Dog
From time to time, people tell me “Lighten up, it’s just a dog” or, “That’s a lot of money for just a dog.” They don’t understand the distance traveled, time spent, or costs involved for “Just a dog.” Some of my proudest moments have come about with “Just a dog.” Many hours have passed with my only company being “Just a dog,” and not once have I felt slighted. Some of my saddest moments were brought about by “Just a dog.” In those days of darkness, the gentle touch of “just a dog” provided comfort and purpose to overcome the day.
If you, too, think it’s “just a dog,” you will probably understand phrases like “just a friend,” “just a sunrise,” or “just a promise.” “Just a dog” brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust and pure unbridled joy. “Just a dog” brings out the compassion and patience that makes me a better person. Because of “just a dog” I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future.
For me, and folks like me, it’s not “just a dog.” It’s an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. “Just a dog” brings out what’s good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.
I hope that someday people can understand it’s not “just a dog.” It’s the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being “just a man or woman.”
So the next time you hear the phrase “just a dog,” smile, because they “just don’t understand.”
-Author Unknown
Oh, also… check out this article on the New York Times about how people who have dogs tend to exercise more. 😀
My name is Jennifer and The Working Mom is my online journal. I'm very bad about updating it regularly. I like writing, but not as much as I 
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