I am making some phone calls (the whole moving thing requires loads of phone calls) and am on hold right now so I thought I'd post a tribute.
On Friday evening we said goodbye to our doggies. I've been having a really hard time taking care of them with only two kids. Add one more into the mix and we decided that it would be easier to find them a new home here instead of in Texas. So I posted on freecycle and had several responses. One lady emailed me three times within a 30 minute period! After chatting with her, it sounded like a great situation for them. She was excited to give them a good home and we were grateful we didn't have to take them to the Humane Society. On Wednesday I took them to the vet to get an update on shots and a wellness exam. While I was waiting in the exam room with them, it hit me that I will miss them. I have spent the last year or so mostly complaining about how much work they are and they bark and shed, but they are really good dogs overall and I will miss them. Someday, I promised DH, we would get another dog. DH is the real dog lover of the family and his own dog was put to sleep when he was 10 or 11, so getting rid of more dogs was really hard on him. If he was home more, I would think more about keeping them.
Just to do them justice: We picked up Pippin in 2003. DH was working nights and I decided it might be nice to have a companion while I did homework and stuff. We talked our landlord into letting us get him (ie - we threatened to move out) and we fell in love with him when we saw his picture online. He was truly our first kid. We walked him at least three times a week, fed him way too much food, bought him too many toys. We took him on the 8 hour drive to Colorado for Christmas, and often took him with us when we went shopping or even to the laundromat. He was well-behaved, was able to stay in his crate for over 12 hours at a time (when I was student teaching and worked in the evening) without having an accident, and was spoiled!
When we put an offer in on our house, we went looking for dog #2. We found Diamond at a shelter and liked her a ton. (We named her Diamond because we found out that Pippin - from the Lord of the Rings - had a wife named Diamond) She and Pippin got along great and it was nice for him to have a companion. Before the Bubbs was born, we took the two to dog parks and on walks. They played basketball with us and romped up and down the stairs :)
As most probably know, once you have kids, they become your priority. Our "other kids" started to get neglected when the Bubbs came along, and much more with the Simster. We still loved them, but found it hard to take care of everyone. As good as our dogs were, it was difficult when DH traveled. I really hope they love their new home and know that we will always have a place for them in our hearts!
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