Today the boys and I traveled to Ringwood, Illinois, to a place called Boxer Rebound. It is a great non-profit organization that takes in Boxers in all kinds of situations (from families going through divorce who can no longer take care of their Boxer, to situations of abuse/neglect) and rehabilitates them so they can find a loving home. We sent in our application on Monday, May 16th, and got a call that Wednesday to go for an interview/meet & greet today. At first glance, they are pretty picky about your living situation, etc., but after some of the things these dogs have been through, I have a much better understanding about their need for information about where the dog might live. There really are some morons out there that treat animals like garbage, and unfortunately some of those animals never have a chance at a happy life. Hopefully we will be lucky enough to be able to help out a dog that would never know what it's like to receive love and affection otherwise.
Anyway, we arrived for our appointment and met with Jeanette, who is the president of the company, and two of the volunteers. They sat with us for about 10 minutes and we discussed our living situation, talked about Charley Brown (a lot, in my case...), and what our expectations were. At first it almost sounded like there weren't any dogs that would fit our situation. I think they were a little concerned about having such a big, normally rambunctious breed around a little guy like Keaton. They learned very quickly that Mr. K can hold his own. :) As we were talking and they were trying to brainstorm about dogs that we could meet, one of the ladies perked up and mentioned a new dog, Noche, that had arrived earlier in the week. They said she might be too scared because she was a bit timid when they first got her, but we decided to give it a shot. One of the volunteers went to get her, and soon there was this little black/brindle 3-4 year old Boxer coming in to greet us. She was a doll. She came right up to all of us and gave us tons of kisses on the face. She was very gentle, and very sweet. Keaton really enjoyed getting kisses from her (and we probably didn't help the situation since he had just finished a PB&J in the car ride up there... I'm sure he tasted pretty sweet) and he would giggle every time she came into contact with him. They were very cute together.
We found out quite a bit about her in the 1.5 hours we got to spend there. She was a "Mill Mama" (as the volunteers called her), so she had a few litters of puppies previously. She was small- just over 40 lbs, which is the smallest Boxer I've ever seen. They figured the puppy mill didn't keep her around to breed more since she was so small. They thought her name might have been Chloe at the mill, but she didn't seem particularly attached to Chloe or Noche when we talked to her- she just enjoyed love and treats. :) We also found out that she really likes to climb, and recently climbed a 6-foot fence! Tiny but tough, I guess! They said if we decide to get her we would have to invest in an Invisible Fence. She also never learned how to sit, so she tends to jump, but she listens well and seems eager to learn, so I think with a bit of work we could get her trained in no time. She never jumped up on Keaton- she was very cautious and gentle around him, which was the main concern Casey and I had in finding a dog that was right for our family. So far, it seems like she would fit well here.
Now we have to decide what to do. She is older and smaller than we had anticipated when we initially thought about getting a dog, but it almost seems like that is better for our situation right now since she is fairly calm. I *think* she is potty trained, but I'm not 100% on that. If not, I doubt it would take much to teach her. I think she just never had the opportunity to experience any formal training. She didn't seem like she knew what to do with toys, and one of the volunteers seemed to think that she may never have played with them before. One good thing about that could be that she wouldn't chew up Keaton's toys like a younger dog would. We would have to invest in an invisible fence, so we have to look into cost and everything. We are required by the company to do obedience classes with her, so that should take care of the potty training/jumping situation. We are supposed to contact them again about our decision and/or scheduling another visit with her. (They like to have at least two visits before they allow a dog to leave.) I'm going to let all the information marinate for a day or two and discuss it more with Casey, and then maybe by early next week we will have a decision.
I love and miss Charley Brown so much, and I know I will never find another one like him. I found myself comparing Chloe/Noche to him a lot, but had to step back and realize that she will be a totally different character than he was, and that is okay. Until recently, I have found it tough to wrap my head around what it will be like to add a dog or a kid to our current situation, because I don't know how I could love anything more than I love my boys. (I tend to mix kids and dogs in the same sentence- just wanted you to be aware that I do indeed know they are two completely different situations.) Sometimes I feel guilty that I wouldn't be able to divide my time very well or that I would in some way neglect Keaton/Casey if a dog or baby were thrown into the mix... could I balance it? I am then reminded of so many people I know who have multiple kids, multiple pets, etc.- You love them all, and each one is totally different than the other, so you learn a different type of love. I don't even know if that makes sense, and I think I am probably not wording it the way I'd like to, but the point is that I am slowly realizing that I will be able to accept another dog into our lives without feeling like they are replacing Charley, just as I will welcome another baby to our lives (not in the next 9 months, FYI) without feeling guilty or thinking that it is taking something away from Keaton. Technically, a dog or baby may take away a bit of time or attention that would otherwise be spent on him, but in the long run it will help him grow as a person...learn to share... learn to be gentle... etc. This is a good situation, and I finally feel like the hole in my heart that was created when Charley passed away is finally mending back together. The scar will remain, but the pain is subsiding. I guess I couldn't ask for anything more.
Anyway, that's plenty for one night. I am spent, and I have way too much to do tomorrow to continue rambling on and losing precious minutes that could be spent catching Zs.I just hope I can slow my brain down a bit and actually go to sleep instead of thinking about the logistics of a new dog, etc. But that's what I do when I get excited about something. :)
Until next time...
-Ash
