...A Family Pet

I have been searching religiously for a family pet. When Paul and I first got married, we went through four dogs in less than 6 months. We haven't had a dog now in over a year, and I think that we are now ready to have a family pet. I want to make sure that we get the right dog this time though, because in the past, we have not made very good decisions.

Dog number one came from the Greenville Humane Society. He was a mixed breed, we're thinking he had Schnauzer Terrier in him and Chow. We named him Bradley. He was a good dog for a few months, but began to become aggressive. Once he snapped at Paul, we had to take him back to the pound. That may sound inhumane, but I was pregnant and I wasn't going to have a dog like Bradley biting my baby because he was jealous.

Dogs two and three were two pekingese whom we rescued from a family who said they loved them, but when we got them their fur was all matted up and they very dirty. The male pekingese was very mean, and very aggressive. Growing up, we had a pekingese who was not mean or aggressive, unless she was provoked. This dog was mean just because he could be. We weren't really sure what to do with him. The female pekingese was sweet though, and just wanted to sit in your lap. We ended up having to take the male pekingese to Greenville Humane Society, because he not only bit Paul, but he also bit me. I know what you may be thinking...that we provoke these dogs to bite us, but that's not that case. We just had very bad luck with two dogs. We were very happy to just have the female pekingese, because she was very sweet, but one day when we came home...she was limping. We weren't sure what happened to her, but noticed that the limping turned to full paralysis in a matter of an hour or so. We took her to the vet, and they determined that she had slipped a disc (like most Pekingese do, because they are so long) and they would need to put her down. I've never had to leave a dog, knowing that I would never see it again and I cried for a full two days.

Dog number four came from the Greenville Humane Society also. He was a beagle, and by far the sweetest dog out of the four. We named him Hank, and we loved him so much. But when we moved into an apartment, he was definitely not happy. I don't blame him at all. He went from having a place to run around, to a tiny apartment where all he could do was lay around. By this time I was very pregnant. We lived on the third floor, and it was very hard for me to even take him out to pee and poop. I refused to take him back to the pound, because he had done absolutely nothing wrong. He just was not an apartment dog. So, I put an ad up on petfinder.com, and soon found a new home for him on a farm. I hope he is doing well today, as I am sure he is.

We haven't had a dog since Hank, but Bree loves dogs and we really want to get her one to grow up with. We have come across a family who is wanting to sell their Silky Terrier to us for 600 dollars (they paid 900 for her). To me, this is a very big decision, because in the past we have never paid more than a small adoption fee for a dog. The dog is absolutely beautiful, and it's pretty much what we are looking for. The only thing stopping me is the 600 dollars. As much bad luck as we have had with dogs in the past, I don't want to spend that money and then it not work out. I'm sure it will work out, but things happen. I believe that Bree would love to have her, and I know that I would too. The money would definitely come out of our tax refund, because we would never have that much money to spend at one time on something. This is a big decision for me. One part of me is saying "Go Ahead! You'll love her!" the other part of me is saying, "Think of all of the other things you could do with 600 dollars." I'm just not sure, and I don't know what to do. We are going to meet the dog this weekend, and I'm sure that will aid in my decision. I just hope it's the right one whatever it is.