The Tale of Three Dogs

I swear Swistle is clairvoyant. Her post about whether or not to get another cat(s) has verbalized something I have been thinking about lately.

Missy is about nine years old. While not a really old dog, she's starting to slow down. Kevin watched Marley & Me the other morning and mentioned the end...the literal end of the movie and the literal end of the dogs life.

I think I would like to have two dogs. I think it would be more fun for the dogs and more fun for us. But I wouldn't necessarily want two puppies. And I don't think Missy would tolerate having a puppy in the house. I think she'd be all "Peace out, bitches" and moving down to Bruce's house.

Oh, here's a story that will make you cry. Bruce used to have a dog named ShitHead, because IT WAS. It was the most anti-social, neurotic dog I've ever met. It didn't like Kevin. All dogs like Kevin. It didn't like other dogs really either. While she liked our old dog Aussie, she seemed to almost enjoy Missy the Puppy Version.

Bruce couldn't find ShitHead one day. He looked and called and looked. Missy came down for a visit while we were at work and Bruce told her "I can't find ShitHead. Go find ShitHead."

And she did.

And she went to get Bruce to show him.

Shithead had died in the woods, not far from the driveway.

Ever since then, Missy visits Bruce daily. Often she'll go down & just hang out. In fact, Bruce leaves his door unlatched so she can come in anytime she wants. For awhile there, Kevin was getting hurt/frustrated because Missy was never home anymore.

But after awhile, she began spending more time at home again.

Then Bruce, who was a brakeman for BNSF Railroad, nearly ran over a batch of puppies on the tracks. All got off except one.

And we named him Lucky. Because, really? What other name is going to fit?

Lucky is the sweetest black lab mix you'll ever meet. His job is to sit on you. That's all. He is everyone's dog. If he could talk he would say "Hi, my name is Lucky. I'm just happy to be here."

Missy was resentful of the new puppy for awhile but she eventually got over it. They became buddies that roamed the properties freely.

But now, Missy is aging and Lucky is all "Hey, let's go run over there!"

And Missy is all "Why? I'm perfectly comfortable here, thanks."

So, Lucky is bummed out because his buddy is too old or tired to play anymore.

And that's why we're thinking about getting another dog.