Pack Leader 2019

I have been trying to pawn our Husky-Lab mixed puppy off on anyone and everyone, including: family, friends, neighbors, students and finally the Humane Society, to no avail.  There are many reasons that I have been actively trying to find her a new home, but the main reason is because of the pressure my husband has been putting on me. 

Ever since Professor T. Rex (the 3lb Chihuahua) showed up at our house and joined our family, my husband has been in my ear telling me I need to get rid of a dog. He is adamant that, “we are a one animal family”. While I want nothing more than to make my husband happy, I am having a very hard time with this rule he has set. 

Number one I don’t agree that we are a one animal family and really don’t understand why we have to be. Number two the 3lb rodent like dog, doesn’t truly count as a second animal, does she? She could survive solely off of the food the boys drop on the floor every meal time. Not that she does, but she could. My argument is she hardly takes up any room in the house and it costs next to nothing to feed her. She’s hardly a bother at all, because her personality is so chill and the boys adore her. Besides, Rex provides both entertainment and company for Sweetums the wild Husky-Lab mix. 

The thing is my husband doesn’t want me to get rid of the tiny teacup dog. Instead he thinks we should get rid of Sweetums because she is so wild and full of energy. Which never would have really been an issue had Rex not shown up at our house. Here is where I get all wishy-washy. Even my parents (all dog lovers) have agreed that it would be better for Sweetums to find another home, because she is not trained and spends all of her time tearing up the backyard. But my problem is, she is a puppy, and she’s never really been trained, which I take full responsibility for. I keep thinking that it wouldn’t matter what dog we had, it would still need to be trained and exercised. That’s part of having a dog. Since I am the one that wants the dog it is my responsibility to exercise and train her. 

Which brings me to my husband’s next argument, “you don’t have the time to train her.” So the past has proven that I haven’t had time for the dog. That doesn’t mean I can’t and won’t make time for her. It means that she needs to become more of a priority to me. 

Let me back up a few days, to the 27^th of December. Here we were at the title company, signing all of the documents to close on our new home, when my phone rang. Since we were busy signing everything I silenced the ringer and ignored the call. It wasn’t until we were in the car on the way to turn the water on and set up waste management, that I listened to my voicemail. 

It was the Humane Society. I had called about surrendering Sweetums to them multiple times and they finally had a space for her. They were calling for me to bring her in to be assessed to make sure she was adoptable. I didn’t expect myself to react the way I did. I fully anticipated surrendering a dog to be tough, but that I would still be able to go through with it. 

Well, that was not the case at all. Instantly I was a mess. I couldn’t see myself turning her in. I couldn’t see our family being without her. Yes our new backyard is a quarter of the size of the current backyard and yes my busy life isn’t going to let up, but I can’t fathom giving the dog up. Not yet. I feel I haven’t given her my all yet. I feel like I haven’t given her much of anything yet.

So my New Year’s Resolution for 2019 is to exercise and train Sweetums. I think it will be good for me, because if she’s getting her exercise it means I am too, working on both my mental and physical health with her by my side. And if Sweetums is getting trained it means I am finally asserting myself becoming the pack leader, my family needs me to be. I figure I have to give this a shot and if doesn’t work out for us and she’s still spending all of her time untrained and tearing up a our new backyard then I will call the Humane Society again.