No one really has to twist my arm too far to get me to agree to take on another dog. I'm not that stubborn about it. I'm tougher than a rusted bolt when it comes to a few things, but not dogs. I'm not a pushover either - there has to be a good reason, and yeah, you can define "good" in various ways. I'm really not going to fight you if you're just damn set on giving me a dog.
I have, in the past, and probably still will, take a dog for someone and fatten it up, find it a good home, and pray over it knowing it's going to a good place. I've done that a few too many times in my life. I've also, God knows, been the one to simply take a stroll through a dog pound to just window shop; you know how that ends. I can guarantee you that if I go to a pound, I'm going to walk out with a living, breathing friend I didn't walk in with. That's a given.
Well, there is one breed - the Dachshund/Beagle, that no matter what my situation is, I would make room for it if it had to be. I couldn't and wouldn't turn down a Dachshund/Beagle for any reason, really, and if I needed to, I could always find room for it around the place. It's just a fact of life. There's a really good reason (Good being the word) that God has kept most of the loose or needy Dachshund/Beagles in other states. He knows my weakness. I can't say no. I'm incapable.
Well, Hans isn't a Dachshund/Beagle, but what he is (is) just as good. He's a half-standard and half-mini Dachshund, which makes him the exact size of the most perfect dog to walk the face of the earth; the Dachshund/Beagle. When he first became available, I wondered how the other dogs would be with him. But after seeing Kiah with a toad baby the other day, I'm convinced Hans will be perfectly safe in our home. Kiba was tiny when he came into our house, and he's been squashed, kicked, bitten, and rolled over a few times, but nothing he hasn't deserved - he's an instigator.
Hans was available, and I said yes. Then, after thinking about it, and the training that would be necessary, and all the worrying about his safety (not to mention, I have four other dogs), I decided not to get him. I told his owner, and she understood. I just knew someone else would come along within an hour and snatch him up! She's not charging much at all for her dogs. Her full price is usually what some charge for their deposits! I told her no, and then a week went by, and I noticed she still had him advertised as if he was available.
I called and talked about it; no one was willing to put the deposit down until he was weaned. That's not how it works, folks. You put the deposit down to keep the dog when he is weaned. Well, with no one beating down her door, and me really wanting him despite my better judgment and despite the fact that I won't be all that thrilled about training another puppy, I decided to tell the owner I'll take him. She agreed, and she's really happy about it because she and my daughter are long-time friends online -- it makes good sense.
So, in just under two weeks, I'll pick him up. He'll come home, and he'll start his little black and tan butt life right here at my house under strict supervision - I know my daughter. He'll be my dog, but she'll run his life from the get-go when it comes to where he can and can't go, what he can and can't do, and who he can and can't mess with -- the cats will no doubt train him well, too. I'm excited about it. I can't lie. I won't lie. I'm not being a very responsible adult right now, but with Ginger's inevitable passing, maybe it is a good thing. God knows. He could have let someone else come along, but no one did.
I'll consider that my sign. He'll never be a Rover. He won't ever replace Matrix; he may only come close to George, but the truth is, he's going to be perfect -- he's my Hans.
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