Dakota's New Home

Some of you have asked what was going on with our dog. I'll try to sum it up in as little words as possible.

For the past 4-5 months, we have been wavering back and forth on the topic of keeping her or getting rid of her. Jason, of course, would rather get rid of her, and I, on the other hand, was having a hard time picturing our family without her.

There wasn't really a LAST straw... it was more a combination of many things. We loved her to death, of course, she was a great dog! There were so many things, from digging in the backyard, being too rough while playing with the boys outside, still getting up on the table and counters and eating our food, and not getting along with Braeden. Not to mention, she's another mouth to feed when financially things are very tight for us. To top things off, I have three little boys with a ton of energy that require most if not all of my time. I thought that I would have more time to give her attention and get her out to exercise when she needed it, but I find that she gets pushed to the back burner and my children come first.

I finally came to grips with the fact that it would be better for ALL of us (Dakota included) if we could find her another home. I talked with friends at first, but nothing materialized. I found out the newspaper was running a free ad offer for 3 days, so we tried that. It ran on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We didn't get a single call, and I was starting to think that we were going to have to come up with a plan B.

Last night during dinner, a guy called inquiring about her and asked if they could come see her. They would be here in 15 minutes. It all happened so fast. Within 15 minutes of talking to them, I knew that we couldn't have found a better family. They have another dog that they think needs some company. They have some fenced in acreage with "ROOM TO RUN" and a "SPOT TO DIG."

I don't think it even hit me or sunk in what we were about to do until after we had brought her outside to meet their dog and they put her in the back of their truck. Gaven started crying for her, reaching out to her and it broke my heart! I brought him back inside before they drove off and joined him in tears.

It hasn't really gotten better yet (thinking about her being gone), but I hope it will. The hard thing is, while we had her here, all I could think about was the bad, and now that she's gone, all I can remember is the good. I missed her last night, cuddling with me after the boys went to bed, and it was hard to wake up this morning without the jingle of her tags. I probably sound like such a sap, but it really feels like we lost a part of our family!

Now is the time where you second guess your decision. The family that took her couldn't have been more perfect for what she needs. They even told us, "We're not going anywhere, so if you change your mind in a week, in a month or in a year... we're here, just give us a call." Sometimes I think it might be better if I didn't have that option!

Anyway, so that's the story of what happened with our dog. I'm just hoping that eventually it will get better and the pros of having her gone with outweigh the cons!