Hubby's Gonna Buy Me a Bow-Wow!

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Some of you may remember frequent complaints from me about my dog-less state. I’m daft about dogs, and we always had at least one in the house when I was growing up. However, I have now been married for more years than I’ve been single, and we haven’t had a dog in all that time. Rik says I made absolute fools of the two guinea pigs that belonged to our children and cried too much when they died – and, in any case, it was no fun coming second to a pair of furry rodents, so what would I be like with a furry canine? By the way, his canine history is similar to mine except that he had bigger, more boisterous dogs. And at last his resistance has been eroded. This is partly due to the fact that my daughter has added her blandishments to mine. She has moved in with us temporarily and has recently lost contact with a much-loved dog. (For those who remember her from my posts, Cookie the Chihuahua belongs to my daughter’s “ex”, and she certainly misses Cookie more than the ex!) Anyway, we’re due to go on holiday early in September, but after that it’s Operation Hunt the Dog! There are still problems, of course. Rik has made it very clear that he does NOT want a Chihuahua. He feels that his masculinity might be questioned if he was seen with a Chihuahua on a lead. He agrees that we should have a small dog, but his choice would be a Jack Russell Terrier. Now, while I love Jacks, I think that they might be too, er, enterprising for me to control. I love Griffons Buxellois, but I think they’d meet with the same response as Chihuahuas. The small dog that I really admire at the moment is the Miniature Schnauzer, but I think they might raise as many problems as the terrier breeds. (Note for my US readers: in the UK, Schnauzers are not classified in the Terrier Group, but in the Utility Group.) The other problem is we do rather feel that we should acquire a dog through “rescue” channels, either breed rescue or local rescue. In some ways it seems more ethical to give a home to an unwanted dog. I think it might be difficult, however, to come away with just one dog in such circumstances! Also, as inexperienced dog owners, it might be rather difficult to deal with a dog that has problems due to a bad start in life, and I’d hate to make things worse! I know quite a lot about dogs in theory from when I had the fantastic job of editing dog breed books, but it was some time ago and, anyway, it was just theory! Anyway, whatever the method, the plan at the moment is to acquire a furry, four-footed, canine companion. Squirrels and local cats, take note!