Adding to the pack

It's been a while since I last updated. We've been talking about getting Freddie a companion for a while, but timing was never right. We were either moving house, going away on holidays or simply getting on with life and short of cash.

For a while there, talk of getting another dog was simply put on hold. But after Fred was found on our neighbour's property, exploring his boundaries we decided that it was time Freddie had a new companion to keep him company and hopefully keep him on the straight and narrow.

We live in a farming community, and it's been lambing season for the last few months. If Freddie had been seen by any of these farmers he would've been shot on sight. Not exactly pleasant for me.

Having had such a bad experience with our last companion dog I was very wary of what kind of dog we would pick for Fred. Having had Fred to ourselves for the last year it's been a wonderful opportunity to get to know him better. I certainly think he's bonded a lot closer to us.

I've been searching on foster care sites, dog rescue forums as well as subscribing to pounds so that I could be notified if new dogs came in.

My requirements were:

*      A wolfhound type dog. Once a wolfhound owner, always a wolfhound owner. I have yet to meet any other dog which can beat the wolfhound temperment.

*      Submissive - don't want any more aggression aka Rosie

*      A girl. Better for Fred than a dominant male.

*      People orientated. Rosie never cared for us much and she was more of a cat than a dog. She chose when she wanted a cuddle and was never really interested in us giving her that much attention. She was more focused on Fred and getting him to chase her around the yard. Of course one of the worst things was, she was constantly in 'game' mode. So if you took her for a walk off lead, inevitably she would run off, and when you called her, she'd come a little close and then run off again, as if daring you to chase her. And 9 times out of 10 you couldn't get her back on lead. Talk about frustrating.

*      Non food aggressive. Another Rosie trait that I disliked very much. If you fed her and then came near her while she was eating she would growl at you. Whereas you can take food out of Fred's mouth. In fact, if you feed him and then stand next to him - he won't eat. He looks at you as if to say, 'do you want some? coz if you want some, you can have it. I can wait!'

*      Long haired. Our winters here are very cold, and since the puppies will spend the majority of the day outside they need to be protected from the weather. Making a short haired puppy not really suited to the climate here.

*      Fairly young. Hubby felt that part of the reason that Rosie was so untrainable was because she was already 2 when we got her, and must've had quite a spoilt life before she came to us. As a result she didn't seem to believe that anyone else was top dog except her. Hubby wanted our next dog to be younger so that they could better integrate into our family and essentially be easier to train. Ideally for him would've been a puppy - which I wasn't 100% keen about. 3 meals a day, toilet training, teething, etc. Talk about a full time job!

There have been a number of wolfhound crosses available through the pounds and rescue groups lately, but most of them have either not caught my eye mainly because they haven't met my requirements or were simply too far away/not convenient for us to go and look at.

Finally last Thursday I got an email from Queanbeyan Pound (I was on their mailing list) and they had in an Irish Wolfhound x Staghound. It sounded promising and was local, so I rang them up for more information. I was directed to their website where I saw a picture of a greyish looking girl who looked quite big. She had the shaggy hair of a wolfie and seemed quite nice. It helped that the description described her as a lovely social girl. It all sounded promising.

Here is her pic from the pound website:

Doesn't she look sweet?

I teed up with Hubby to see her on Friday morning (the Queanbeyan pound has such weird opening hours), and off we went.

I must admit I was slightly dubious when I met her. She was smaller than she looked in the photo. She'd also only just been let our of her pen (we were there at opening time) and as a result she was quite jumpy/scattered. Having said that, when I came in, the first thing she did was jump up at me, and licked me on the nose. Then she proceeded to run around the pen sniffing. Reminded of Rosie's tendancy to be jumpy and scattered/not interested in her humans, made me a little wary.

The ranger had warned us to give her a bit of patience, since she was in a pound environment and locked up overnight meant that she was just starting to ease into the day. But even with that caution, it's hard to not make judgements. We spent about 15mins with her (we had to go to work aftewards) and I left still not 100% sure. I was worried since she was so jumpy that she might try to scale our dog pen fence. And I wasn't sure she was going to be affectionate enough.

Having said all that, I did make a booking for the next day, so that we could bring Fred along to see how she would go with him. I guess I was trying very hard not to be judgemental, and I knew due to past experience that girl wolfies don't come around often through pounds. They're just not as popular a dog as your staffy, cattle x or mastiffs. So I was keen to give her a proper chance despite my initial concerns. It didn't help that she hadn't had a bath and stunk to high heaven. It's hard to give a dog a cuddle and see if she reacts well when she stinks so bad!

The other concern I had was that she had simply been left in the outside pens. She wasn't microchipped or desexed and hadn't been surrendered. It made me wonder what her past was like.

While the listing on the pound site had said she was 1 1/2, the ranger said the Vet had been by the day before and had judged her probably closer to 1 than 1 1/2. Which was a bit more reassuring.

I slept on it and still wasn't 100% sure. I decided it would probably depend on a second viewing. The more I thought about her, the more I thought, gee, she sure is small - would she fit in with us? Since having Fred I've taken to liking big solid dogs. I'm fairly rough with Fred and it never matters. As a result I always forget when I'm around little dogs that I have to be gentle. This girl looked so thin and frail and practically danced on her feet in that pen. I worried that I'd have to change my perspective while owning her. I wanted big solid dogs, not delicate ones that I had to watch out for in case I stepped on them!

She also had more of a greyhound build/face than a wolfie. And to be honest, being picky the second time around I was more interested in wolfie looking dogs than the santa's little helper types.

I'd asked hubby how he felt and he was fairly indifferent. Said she was a nice girl but that it was up to me. I'd said I wasn't sure, and he said to me, 'look if you don't want her, don't get her'. Which meant the decision was totally mine to make. Talk about pressure! It's a big deal to know that you are responsible for whether or not a dog gets to get out of the pound.

Anyhow, the next day came and we went out to see her, Fred in tow. It was strange seeing her the second time. Next to Fred she was in fact not as small as I'd remembered. In fact she was probably only about a hand smaller than Fred. That was very reassuring as it meant that while they were playing Freddie couldn't hurt her or accidently squash her flat.

Interestingly, when we let Fred into the pen, he was more interested in marking out the pen as his own, peeing everywhere, than he was interested in her. She tried a few times to engage with him, doing the bowing/bouncing moves that dogs do when they are trying to play and getting the other dog to chase them. Usually Fred does that with other dogs and they ignore him. Similarly this time he ignored her and continued his rounds, sniffing and peeing everywhere. I felt bad for her and got down to her level to see if she was interested in us.

I'd done quite a bit of reading on greyhounds the day before and a bit on temperment testing, so decided to see how she would react to things like me wrapping my arms around her for a hug, lying her down on the floor and rolling her over. Each time she was submissive - which was a good sign.

After I spent a few minutes with her, Freddie came up to inspect, and started to get interested. Looking at the two of them (she also has a brindle coat) it was like watching a family/pair of dogs. It was a pleasant sight to see and they definately looked like they were getting along. I think that, combined with the pound's report on her temperment (they'd done a test before we came) that was what sealed the deal. Knowing that she was big enough to handle Fred and that Fred seemed to quite like her just made it easy. And she definately seemed interested in us.

We had a chat with the ranger who told us that she had passed her temperment test with flying colours. No aggression with any dogs. Knew how to 'sit' and 'shake hands' and that she was one of the nicest dogs they'd ever had in the pound.

It was interesting comparing the two dogs side by side. Freddie's brindle coat gleamed in the sunshine. He's a big strapping boy. In comparison, she was bony (you could feel her ribs and chest bone), her fur was all matted and grey, even if her head was brindle, and just looked.. washed out. She had little short patches on her legs and her fur just looked scraggly. It looked like she'd definately been through the mill. Scrawny would probably sum her up to a T. It definately made me feel good knowing that we'd been responsible for getting Freddie to look so healthy and loved. He just looked so.. prosperous in comparison to her.

We sorted out the arrangements and settled on picking the girl from the Vet's on Monday for desexing.

Considering my initial concerns and worries, it's interesting to see how quickly I flipped from 'not sure if i want this one' to 'let's get her!' I think Freddie's interaction with her was the deciding point. Being able to see her size in comparison to his was a big factor for me, and knowing that she seemed quite sweet and people attentive was also very important for me.

So now it's down to waiting for Monday to pick her up from the Vet! Wish us luck!

Freddie the Country Dog

We have officially moved into our new home.

This means of course that Freddie now gets 100 acres to roam and protect.

Which means that there is a whole new set of adventures out there for Freddie to get into.

Yesterday we went out for a walk because I wanted to check out the Water Tank at the top of the hill.

I'm going to pee on this, do you have to look???

Here is the cute boy caught in the act of peeing on a bush.

Coming mum! You called?

Getting closer!

After which he bounded off down the hill in pursuit of something.

After I walked up to visit the water tank and check out the views, I started calling for Fred.

He'd been gone for a good fifteen minutes by then and I was getting worried.

I stood still listening intently for the sound of a puppy in pain. I eventually heard lots of crashing and wood snapping and then spotted the boy bounding up towards me.

I love how the pics capture him with this mouth open and all this fangs sticking out. LOL

Freddie the Luck Dragon

Freddie Big Tongue

Here he is after coming back, panting like a banshee and with his tongue hanging out.

This picture makes him look like the Luck Dragon from Neverending Story.

At least I think so anyway....

He seemed pretty happy anyway.

I also spotted all this yellow stuff on top of his nose.

I think he might have tried to stick his nose into an ant hill or something.

That or he found a HUGE flower full of pollen to sniff. LOL

Here he is later, resting back at the house. If you look his back paw is bleeding.

I didn't notice at first until I started taking lots of pics.

He had managed to scrape off half his toe.

YECH

I think he might've just landed on something without realising as he was running.

I washed it off with dettol and rinsed it a few times.

This morning it looks ok so I've stopped worrying.

Let's just hope he keeps his adventures to ant hills.

The last thing I want is for him to discover snakes =(

"Yech mum! Not Snakes..."

Here are a few more close up shots. I love this one - he looks so serious:

The Contemplative Fred

Here he is after drinking water. He practically drank an entire bowl. I have no idea what he got up to when he ran off.

And to be honest I'm not sure I really want to know. LOL

A Happy Boy

I LOVE this shot of him also. Again you can see that yellow spot on the bridge of his nose.

He's been Yellow-Spotted

And another one taken from above...

And lastly a profile shot. Look at his fangs!

Some new Freddie Portraiture

*yawn* why do we have to take pictures?

 I know, I know, I know.
Long time no blog!
Life has been super hectic while we get ourselves into gear.
We are in the middle of moving into a 100 acre property which will give little Freddums here enough room to run!
Managed to get out the camera yesterday (and bring in the cable this morning) to capture a few pics of little Puppy Fred when we headed down to the coast.
I didn't manage to get any pics of him swimming, but it seems like he's lost his aversion to water for good and was willing to get into the river. Not like last time when he was dragged kicking and screaming into it. We'll turn him into a Water Puppy yet!
Here are some cute pics from the back of the car en route to the coast:

"Ok mum, if you insist here's me looking super happy!"

"Yup, still smiling!"

OK, this is getting slightly dull now..

It was a very hot day yesterday and you can see that's he's trying his best to stay cool with that big pink tongue of his hanging out.

OK mum, are we there yet???

Isn't he a handsome boy? He's still growing
sideways and filling out nicely. He's never going to get any taller,
but this is his third collar since we got him, and he's already moved
up another notch on the collar hole thingies.

We'll be moving into our new property in less than 20 days. So stay tuned and I promise to take pics of his new digs when we get there! Oh yes, and post them up of course!

A very undignified puppy

Undignified Fred with Crazy Owner

Fred: Sitting in a human's lap is overrated

Fred: That's It. I'm outta here...

It's lonely at home........

Rosie's been gone for over a week now. Freddie was pretty good for the first week even though he was spoilt rotten by us. Let inside at all hours of the day by the hubby. Plenty of cuddles from me, and lots of long walks from both of us.

The other morning I noticed that the jasmine plant I had planted post Rosie had been dug up. Roots scattered all over the footpath.

! ! !

Since I didn't catch Freddie doing it, and there's no other culprit, I couldn't do anything other than replant it, hope it survives and put a little fence around it.

Now that Rosie is gone, the true Fred can shine through. He *does* dig - just not as big gaping moonscape holes as Rosie.

He also started going off his breakfast. Which is quite worrying. I had used Rosie's old food bowl to water the jasmine plant in the morning before work and forgot to put it back inside.

I wonder if Freddie spotted the bowl and remembered/wondered she has gone, and is getting a bit antsy.

He eventually eats everything, but he doesn't gulp it down like he used to =(

When we come home there's a lot more whining too. He's always been a quiet dog. Usually he'll open his mouth while he stretches and I think that activates his voice box. But when we used to come home you'd probably hear one whine from him and a few howls of protest or excitement (however you want to look at it) from Rosie.

Last night when I came home, there was a constant whine coming from the back of the house. *shakes head*

These little things are making me think that he must be getting pretty lonely at home when no one is around. He's only ever been alone for a few days in a row - when we first got him. Otherwise he's always had Rosie for company.

I have found that having one dog is much more relaxing. You can heap your attentions on the dog, and not worry about the other dog feeling left out, or making an effort to share your affection around.
Having one dog certainly works better for us. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to work better for Fred.
I came home last night to see that he had done some landscape gardening.

Freddie's Friend

The branch is one that was cut down a while ago that Hubby had never got around to removing. Here Freddie's dragged it inside the verandah so he can chew on it. I watched him circle it last night trying to decide on the best method of attack.
Poor boy. He's so excited to see us when we come home. I try to give him as much attention as I can, but I get the distinct feeling that giving him company during the day might be the best cure.
I'm not sure I'm ready for another dog again. But it's not all about us either. We need to take Fred's feelings into consideration, and the vibe I get from him is that he needs company. Spending the evening with us is super and all that, but we don't really give him that much stimuli. I think another dog for company would be best to keep him occupied and happy.

Just Fred

We returned Rosie on Saturday.

But it was not without its dramas.

We found out the week before that you can't surrender a dog to another council area. So this Saturday morning we got up extra early and drove down to the council pound (I had a lunch date with mum at Midday, and the pound closed at midday).

We turn up to discover they didn't have room for Rosie, and when we pointed out that we were told we couldn't surrender a dog to a different council, they suggested a few that would, and also suggested the RSPCA.

Since we had said that Rosie has a tendancy to run off and digs, chances are that she wouldn't be able to be rehomed, and that perhaps being put to sleep might be best. In which case, since they were full, we could go to the vet. That took the wind out of my sails. They acknowledged it was a hard decision to make, but while I am prepared to surrender Rosie with the off chance that she can be rehomed, I was not prepared to simply put her to sleep.

So we went home and looked up the closest RSPCA.

The place was HUGE. I'd never seen such a big dog pound before. Supposedly it's the biggest one in New South Wales.

The surrendering process went pretty smoothly. No judgement from the people behind the counter (as opposed to the local council - "have you tried rehoming? etc etc"

We filled out the forms, and before we knew it, we were handing over the lead.

When it was time to leave, and we started walking away Rosie made an attempt to follow us. That nearly broke my heart. Especially when you think about all the trouble she's been, and how she used to choose not to follow us and go her own way. I turned away. When I looked back for one last time, all I saw was her bottom entering the door as she was being led into a room to be examined. That's the last glimpse of Rosie I ever saw. And I still couldn't look her properly in the eye =(

I hope she makes it and goes to a good home. The RSPCA did say that a digger is harder to rehome, but that she'd stay with them for a few days before anything happened (i.e. being put down). =/ =\ =|

Would it be too morbid of me to go on the RSPCA website and see if she's there available for adoption? In fact, I've just gone to have a quick look. She's not on the website, but then again, it's a huge pound. Perhaps they only put up a select few online?

Husband reckons Rosie isn't a very good domestic pet - i.e. she doesn't go for super affection like Freddie does, and she constantly beats to the sound of her own drum. I still stand stubbornly on the side that she just needs the right owner with a big enough yard that no one will notice that she digs massive craters and gets into all sorts of trouble.

I must say though, going home, it felt like the garden breathed a huge sigh of relief. We can now scrape up all the dirt from her diggings off the pavement path and dump it back into the holes she dug, without having to worry that it will all be in vain when she digs them all out again. Would you believe the footpath was so thick with dirt that there were earthworms underneath when I scraped/dug it up?!

We also planted in a jasmine plant to grow along the back fence, without having to worry about its survival rate. Freddie won't dig it up. Although I do admit to wondering now that Rosie's gone whether or not Freddie will start destroying the garden, or that we'll discover that Rosie was just a front for Freddie when he in fact was the real destroyer. How ironic would that be?

Freddie's been holding up pretty well. I was worried that he would stop eating. Whenever Rosie came back after her jaunts she would growl at Fred and he would stop eating. When she used to jump onto the other side of the fence, she'd growl at him and Freddie would leave his bowl uneaten.

But so far, he's gobbled up everything. We were giving him kangaroo sausages the last few nights, and it's very amusing watching him eat them. Hubby argued that I should cut the sausages up. I pointed out that he was a wolfhound and if anyone doesn't need his food cut up for him, it's a wolfhound. I mean my entire FIST fits in that mouth. Why should he be concerned with a measly sausage?

But I watched him last night as he picked up his sausage and set it beside his bowl. LOL. I think he's a little flummoxed with what a sausage is. He always eats it, but there is always that slight look of confusion before he eats, or at the very least a hesitation. He never gobbles it straight up like Rosie used to. He'd pick it up, put it to the side, and sometimes even eat around it on his dry food first.

Freddie's also spent quite a lot of time with us over this weekend. We gave him a shower when we got home - he was getting a bit too doggy for us. From the moment the word 'shower' was uttered, we got the feeling that he was already onto us. But as per usual, once he got in and realised he couldn't get out, he suffered the shower. We didn't let him out for the rest of the evening, as I refused to let all our hard work (dragging him in, soaping him up, dragging him back under the shower spray, etc etc) go to waste, if he went outside and lay on the wet grass (it had rained all weekend).

Sunday, I gave him a good run around the oval and when we got home let him inside. Which is a treat in itself. I was busy doing some other things, but the minute I sat on the ground he crawled up to me for a cuddle. Later when I went to get up from the couch, I must've gotten up too quickly. There was a big thwump noise as Freddie hit his head on the bottom of the coffee table in his need to look up and see where I was going. Any human who made such a noise would've had a concussion! Not Freddie. He spent most of the evening following me around the house.

He's also outgrown his collar. The last few walks on lead, I've noticed how responsive he is, and I thought perhaps our training had finally gotten through. But when I looked at him last night with his neck bulging out around his collar, I realised perhaps it was simply that he finally felt my pulls because the collar was too tight =/

We took it off, and my next errand is to get him a bigger collar. This will be his third collar. So atm he is going around the yard collar-less.

Overall hubby reckons Freddie seems happier that Rosie's gone. I definately don't notice him moping. If anything he seemed more relaxed as he wandered the yard, picking up his bones to chew on. I always knew that Rosie was dominant and a bit of a bully, but perhaps there was more to it than I realised.

There is definately less stress around the dogs. I don't have to constantly keep an eye on Fred as he does his walk. I used to have to watch Rosie like an eagle, in case she rolled in a smelly patch of dirt. I'd also have to be careful about other dogs, in case she spotted them and bounded up to growl at them and scare the crap out of their owners.

Freddie bounded up to a stranger on his walk last night, but all it got him was a friendly pat. No 'keep your dog on its leash' kind've comment. And once he got his pat, he bounded off again.

While I have to be honest and admit that life is less stressful without Rosie around, I must also admit to feeling a bit sentimental about her departure. I also feel guilty that we couldn't be her Forever Home. My friends tell me that if she's not for you, she's not for you, and pointed out that she might not feel as comfortable/happy with us either. They also point out that we did try - and for two years no less. I'm sorry that we weren't the best owners for her, and I really do hope that she can find better owners. I kept on wondering what it might be like, if she did get adopted and I happened to meet her on the street one day. How bizarre would that be? But then again, I'm just fantasizing. It's a lot harder to voluntarily give a dog up, than to have her taken away from me, be it with her running off and being picked up by the RSPCA, or her being rehomed with my knowledge and consent.

Rosie.

This is one of the hardest posts to write. 

Rosie is going back to the pound tomorrow, and I have no words to express how conflicted I am about it.

Hubby has been lobbying for Rosie's departure for close to a year now. And I have been lobbying for him to be patient, but after the last weekend or so, Rosie's a lost cause.

Rosie's destructive around the yard - digs holes, jumps fences, ruins veggie gardens. She only comes when called when she chooses to (many a time she's run off during an off leash walk and only come back the next morning).

Two weekends ago, I had planted in a new veggie patch replete with dozens of beetroot, kale, kohl rabi and other yummy seedlings. Over the week I didn't get a chance to inspect said seedlings, so Two Fridays ago, I asked the husband (who was working at home that day) to check on them for me.

He came back with "The dogs got in. It's all gone."

I originally thought the email was a joke to rile me up. I had been SO proud and SO excited about that veggie patch. But as the minutes progressed and a phone call was made, it turned out it was true.

Here is the yard the morning after. Hubby had already gone in and raked over most of the damage. Apparently before that it looked like a moon crater.

the aftermath of my veggie patch

Other victims included my Stevia Plant. I had heard much about the magic of Stevia. Its leaves taste super sweet and can be substituted for sugar. I finally got my mitts on one, and planted it in a pot alongside a hardy coriander (Hubby loves coriander, but normal coriander doesn't survive frost) and a mushroom plant (supposedly the leaves taste like mushrooms).

Pot

This is all that remained:



i.e. NOTHING. There is a gaping HOLE where the stevia plant used to be. Guess Rosie has a sweet tooth. *pouts*

However, when I went to replant my veggie garden this past weekend, I did find a few survivors:

Parsnip

That little leaf that's leaning across the entire pic is a Parnsip. My only parsnip left of the four little ones that I had.

I also managed to find another beetroot and two kale. Covered in dirt, but somehow not dead yet.

So that's reassuring.

Anyway, back to Rosie.

It seems that this is the final straw.

What else has she done in the last two years since we got her, other than dig huge pot holes that me and Freddie have managed to fall into?

We had to fence off half the yard because Rosie was doing so much damage to the garden. When we came back from our honeymoon, Rosie would make a point of jumping over that fence. She never figured out how to jump back though. So she'd stand there and howl and whine until we eventually let her back in. It didn't matter how long we left her on the other side of the fence, she'd constantly go back over. Husband argued that she was doing it for attention. I'm not so sure myself, but I had no suggestions as to why she was acting the way she did.

She's always run off during walks. Happened probably the second week in after we got her. Hubby went with the dogs for a walk, and she ran off. Never to return. We got a call from the pound a few days later. She'd been picked up wandering the local school grounds, and managed to hurt her paw. So pound release fees and a vet visit later, she was back at home. But her running off was consistent throughout the two years she's been with us.

The scariest was a few months ago, when she ran off, and disappeared into another village. She'd been found wandering the local rifle range. The guy who picked her up gave us directions to pick her up. We had to drive down a road until it hit dirt road, and then go for another 7km. We did it at night, with a smattering of rain. There were many moments when I was terrified that we'd never get back out alive (the road wound through state forest). I kept on imagining people jumping out of the forest and forcing us out of the car. I was so glad Hubby was with me, and I wasn't on my own.

Rosie has never been much of an affectionate dog - least not like Freddie is. If you give her a pat or a scratch, once you're done she goes away and spends the rest of the evening under the coffee table. If you stop scratching or patting Freddie he'll put his nose up under your arm or put his head in your lap, insisting the tickling/scratching continue.

I think that Rosie's lack of affection has also affected the way Hubby sees Rosie. He finds her too much work perhaps, for what she is. Personally I think that Rosie just needs a different owner. We used to take her to dog training, but life kind've took over, and we never went back after the first few weeks. Every weekend I tell myself I will give Rosie training so that she will come when called (so many times on an off leash walk she will run off, and want to be chased rather than come back on lead. It can be very frustrating). But every weekend I have so much on, that training her falls down the priority list and most times she just gets a hurried walk around the block.

I feel guilty that I haven't given her proper training. I could've got an expert trainer, but 1. they cost a lot of money, and 2. you still need to train the dog after the trainer leaves - and the fact that I didn't have time to train her anyway, makes the spending of money a moot point.

Her last home was with a foster family, and she spent it with a dozen other dogs, and spent the time egging the other dogs to chase her. She's a runner/chasee. Our yard isn't really big enough for her, and Freddie's not that much of a chaser.

So I think she needs a family that has a few dogs. That, and a family/owner who has plenty of time to train her, and perhaps doesn't mind that this dog is more like a cat in some ways than a super affectionate dog.

I always thought that I was a Forever Home Dog Owner. A Responsible Dog Owner who, once you take responsibility for a dog, never gives up on her. But Hubby is adamant that Rosie has to go. And despite me trying to put it off, and suggesting ways that we could rehabilitate her, after this last debacle, it's pretty obvious that I've lost this one.

The hubby talked about giving her up to the pound last weekend, and I mentioned that I'd probably need to fill in some forms (I'm the official owner). He found the form for one pound, and the first line is:

"I give permission for my dog to be euthanised"

YIKES. Talk about confronting. I don't want Rosie to be euthanised. I want her to go to a decent family. I want her to be loved, because obviously we aren't the right owners, with the right amount of time for a dog of her temperment.

I came home on Sunday evening in time to catch Hubby take Rosie to the pound. I reluctantly agreed to go with him. It turns out he had left it too late in the evening, and the pound was shut. It also turned out that we were at the wrong pound. This particular pound had a no kill policy, which was part of the reason why we were going to it. But since it's in the wrong council area, we couldn't drop her off anyway, even if they weren't closed.

So Rosie got another week with us.

Last night as I was scratching Freddie, Rosie looked up at me from under the coffee table and thumped her tail.

My heart kind've broke. I couldn't even look her in the eye.

The Hubby hadn't mentioned anything about giving her up again this week and I thought perhaps he'd let it go.

But today I got an email to remind me we'd need to leave the house early to give Rosie up, because we're meeting my family for lunch later on and needed to have enough time to do both.

So you can imagine how conflicted and depressed I am. I'm truly hoping that at the pound Rosie can find a better owner than us. It kills me that we have to give her up this way and that there's a chance she won't make it. We don't know anyone who is in fact after a high maintenance dog, or who has a yard big enough and sturdy enough to withstand dog digging, and has enough patience to train Rosie right and give her the life that every dog deserves.

Tomorrow's going to be a hard day.