For the last few weeks I kept having the thought that a dog would be good for the kids. They are always begging for a dog. John and I are always saying no. I'm not a huge dog/pet person. And yet I have memories of all sorts of different pets when I was growing up. And I guess I wanted my kids to at least have memories of at least one pet.
So I started looking on craigslist. My list of requirements for a dog were pretty high so I really had no expectation of finding one. I wanted a dog that didn't shed, was small, not a puppy, potty trained, good with kids, easy on the eyes, and cheap. Essentially I was looking for my sister's dog Max. We've watched Max multiple times and it's always been easy and low maintenance. Mostly. He's a 7 year old Shih Tzu. So last Wednesday, as I was preparing for ski night, I got an email about a new dog listing. I checked it. It was for a 7 year old Shih Tzu. I txted the owner and asked for more info. I was told the dog was coming from a family with children ranging from 5-12. He had been his mother-in-law's dog for the first 4 years of his life and then when his mother in law passed away they took the dog. The family is moving to AZ in a month and the dad declared that the dog would not be making the move with the family. I go the impression that they were a little overwhelmed with the move and everything that was going on. I told him that I was headed up to ski night but that I would contact him again in the morning. I kind of expected the dog to be gone by then. Shih Tzu's for sale don't last long.
I kind of forgot about it but decided, what the heck, maybe I'll go out and meet the dog. So I txted Thursday morning and asked if I could drive out to meet the dog while Emmie was at school. He did one better. He was headed toward Boise that morning and could bring the dog to me. Easy peasy right?! I immediately called Kortney and asked her to come help me meet this dog. I wanted an opinion of someone familiar with Shih Tzu's who could help me watch for any reason I shouldn't keep this dog.
Shortly thereafter a man showed up at my house with this shaggy dog. He was so fluffy and big! He came into my house and was well behaved. He went straight to the back door and went exploring outside. His name was MoJo. He had been living in a house with a dog door so he wasn't used to a kennel or asking to go outside. And he had been on a strict diet of people food. So those things had to change!
We analyzed the dog. The nice dad told me that he'd prefer to make a clean break so if I wanted the dog he'd just assume me keep it. But he also assured me that they weren't actually moving for a month so if there was any problem with the dog or we changed our minds he would come pick him up and find another home for him.
And then came the clincher...I asked him how much they wanted for the dog. He said nothing. They just wanted to find him a good home. So either he was telling the truth....or he really wanted to get rid of the dog!
With Kortney's approval I took the dog. Even though I had nothing for the dog! The little fur ball was mine! The previous owners gave me food and a bed and dog dishes and then he was off. Kort and I immediately bathed the dirty dog and then I handed her my credit card so she could go buy me dog treats, a bed, leash, etc. The poor thing was obviously depressed. He spent his first full 2 days here laying by the front door waiting for his family to come and get him. It broke my heart!
We also changed the dogs name. We (I) tried to think of something similar but a little more us. And Milo it was. He's starting to respond to his name. So it's working!
And then, after a crazy morning and afternoon, I called John. Whom I had yet to tell I had even been looking at dogs on craigslist. Oops. While I can't say that John was excited about the idea, and maybe even slightly annoyed, I can say that I'm convinced that he and the dog with be best friends shortly.
John was convinced that his previous owners just wanted to dump off the dog on someone and that even if we did change our minds there was no way they would actually come get him. But the first night we had him we were sitting watching TV and I got a txt from the old owner asking me how everything was going. He apologized for being annoying but had promised his wife and kids he would check. He let me know that they were taking it pretty hard but wanted to know that "MoJo" was doing ok. I reassured him that MoJo was doing great, and that we promised to take good care of him, and it was obvious that he missed his family. Then I got an odd txt where he told me "Brinlee has been crying all afternoon and she asked me if I gave him a hug good bye. I had to lie and say yes and I got teary eyed." Then I got another txt "I'm so sorry! That was meant for my mother and not you." And then I started to cry thinking about this woman and four kids crying at home and I looked around the corner and Milo was laying by the front door depressed and sad looking. It was heartbreaking!!
If I'm being honest I've had a couple moments where I though, "what am I thinking!" But I really think we got lucky with this dog. We were able to get him groomed Saturday morning....he looks like a completely different dog! I'm slowly getting more endeared to him. He just looks so dang cute! They had to cut his hair super short because of how matted and nasty it was...but here in a couple weeks he'll be fluffy again. Just not shaggy :)
He has actually been a really good dog. He pee'd on my carpet once the first night he was with us. But I have to take part of the blame for that one. I didn't make him sleep in his kennel the first night and he just goes to the back door and sits when he needs to go outside. He won't bark. So I think he went and sat by the back door and when no one came he went ahead and did his busniness on my carpet. But other than that we've had no accidents. I think we'll have to train him to hit a bell or something when he needs to go outside before we can let him sleep outside of his kennel again.
And for not being kennel trained at all he has done great with that! He moaned for about 2 minutes the first night we put him in there but that was it. He has been sleeping great and is a perfectly quiet and mellow dog! So I guess for the time being...he's a keeper :)
