a thrifty friend, a furry friend

I love dogs, except for German Shepherds and  Rotweilers. My Husband and I both had dogs as pets growing up and we grow very attached to them.  It's strange how we make these connections with dogs. It happens all over the world, people have dogs as pets and they become part of the family. Dogs always seem to be willing to lend a listening ear, or ready to go out and have a good time in the park, always happy to see you. 

This past March, Fritz and I decided to buy a dog. We went to many SPCA's but the prices, though they do cover shots and other necessities, seem pretty high, and we could not afford to make such large payments. So we turned to Kijiji. everyday we searched through the many pages. Eventually we landed on a picture of this adorable Boston terrier beagle mix. The ad said  he was 1 year old, but we are pretty sure he was only 7 months. We loved him right away. we picked him up that night. 

He had these huge ears that flopped on top of his head, and when ever you  asked if he needed to pee, he tilted his head to the side.  He loved playing fetch and got angry when you stopped. When we went for walks, he would pee of everything that stuck out of the ground. He'd work very hard to get his leg up in the air, but ALWAYS peed on his own front legs, he was not a very steady aimer. And when he did number two...he'd lift his leg....how bizarre! This dog also humped other dogs non-stop for hours! it was so embarrassing!

It took a lot of getting used to having a dog in the house. He once managed to get into the bedroom in the morning, which we didn't want because I don't like the idea of dogs being on the bed. But this particular morning he managed to get in and he hopped on the bed, crawled under the cover and when right to the bottom of the bed! When Fritz and I sat on the couch together, he would jump up onto our laps and just sprawl out, he was the cutest Dog in the world! Until one day:

Fritz went to work and I had the week off, since it was march break. I was painting the bedroom that week, and Bentley, the dog, was playing around in the house. Every now and then I'd hear him whimper so we would go outside and he would walk around a bit, We even went for two 1 hour walks that afternoon on top of the 11 times that he whimpered to go outside and was let out. After the second walk, I went back into the bedroom to continue painting, I was working away for about 1/2 and hour, when I thought "hey I wonder what Bentley is up to?" I went out to the back room, only to discover that in  the span of 30 minutes, he had crapped on the floor, peed on my curtains and peed on my just finished painting and frame! I even spoiled him rotten with all the walks and time outside! I decided then and there that I was not ready for this type of commitment. Work did not allow me to take any type of maternity leave for new dog owners who need time to adjust, so we did what we had to do. We turned to Kijiji after having the dog for only one week and gave to dog, to a wonderful couple who had more time to commit to this dog. 

This dog ( a beagle)

plus this dog (a boston terrier)

equals what our dog looked like

I'm glad we chose the thrifty way of purchasing a dog. Could you imagine if we had spent all that money at the SPCA only to find out we were not ready for the commitment of being dog owners? Not that I don't encourage potential dog owners to adopt a pet there. But there are other dogs that need new homes too. I'm sure Bentley loves his new home. I think I will stick to dog-sitting for now, or going to the neighbours to pet their dog. That should be enough for my for now. Also going to the pet store to see the puppies... sometime they let you hold one. 

Someday, when we have more space, more money, more time we will have a dog, we both want a springer spaniel. But not now.