Goodbye Daisy

I've always hated it when people give up their dogs after they have kids. The dog starts out as the center of their world- usually he has a spot in the house (sometimes in the bed), a spot in the car, and a spot on the couch until baby shows up. All of a sudden everyone's best friend has a new spot in the back yard staring in the sliding glass window wondering what happened. I stupidly decided I needed a dog when I was a few months pregnant. I was supposed to be walking every day and a dog would make me do it. She did. We found Daisy at the pound in October. We couldn't believe our luck to have found a Border Terrier at the pound. Euan grew up with Border Terriers as they are a Scottish breed, and his mom actually has one now. Daisy was adorable, energetic and loved to go for walks. After watching The Dog Whisperer religiously for a few weeks, I thought I could definitely handle a little Border Terrier. I remember bringing her home thinking how mellow she was- she was recovering from her spaying surgery. Boy was I surprised the next day when I got out the leash and she started jumping up and down as high as my shoulder. She pulled me to the car and refused to ride anywhere except on my lap. She was cute, but we decided we needed some help. We spent a fortune on a trainer that comes to your house and teaches you and the dog. I promised Euan that I would definitely reinforce her training and work with Daisy every day. And I did, until my pregnancy progressed and I didn't feel like chasing her when she got up from her down stay. Those walks that we were supposed to go on every day became too difficult for me and we began to frequent the dog park instead. The cats were completely pissed off. She was worth it though. She was so cute and everyone wanted to know what breed she was. However, once the babies were born things got harder. Suddenly our small house seemed miniscule, and Daisy following me from room to room just wasn't working. I was afraid she would scratch one of the babies when she jumped up, and there was no way I could put the babies anywere near the floor. Not that she wasn't good around them, she was, she just had a tendency of getting very excited. When she chewed up her collar, her bark collar, 5 of Euan's socks and my brand new flip-flops over the course of two days, I decided I just didn't need one more baby in the house. After a lot of deliberation, and several changes of heart, we finally decided to start looking for a new home for her. We knew that we couldn't give her to just anyone; It had to be a family with a lot of time and energy. We found it! Actually Quincy found them. Her friend and teaching partner happened to want a dog and she had two teenage boys with lots of energy! It was love at first site. They came and got her a week ago. It was sad to say goodbye, in fact I tear up whenever I think about it, but I know that she will be happier there. I just got an update today and it is all good news. Her new family loves her, she went on vacation with them this weekend and was the belle of the ball. I'm glad she is somebody's baby again. I'm sad that the girls won't know Daisy, but we have our house back. The girls now have a rug on the floor to play on. I'm still mad at myself for getting a dog in the first place but at least there is a happy ending.