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This is possibly one of the worst photo's I've used on my blog, but I quite like it all the same.
We are really missing having dogs around the house, and for some weeks now we have been getting increasingly desperate to find a new dog.
However, our requirements are quite stringent, so finding the right dog is proving to be something of a challenge.
Our high level plan is to get a dog of medium size and middle age as soon as we can. We need it to be safe with cats, have a calm and gentle energy, and not be an escape artist. It needs to be fairly comfortable with being left at home during the day, and of course it needs to be fundamentally house trained...any further training or reconditioning, we're happy to undertake as necessary.
Something like a golden retriever would be perfect, although we'd also be interested in labs, flat-coat retrievers, spinone or similar...maybe even a bearded collie or a rotty or something like that...
Next we'd like a bigger, younger dog, and finally maybe a small dog with a big character...some sort of terrier, most likely.
Of course all these plans are subject to immediate change with no prior notice, upon finding the right dog of any age, size or breed!
Anyway, we had some time today so decided to pop to the Dogs Trust and have a look. We weren't too confident that we'd find the kind of dog we're looking for but wanted to see for ourselves.
It was sad to see how many of the dogs in there have issues...some just lie in their crates, clearly depressed...others spin round in circles, frustrated and stir crazy...yet others still just bark and bark at passers by...a few are friendly, and one or two have lovely soft energy and a nice slow wag, but often even these seem somewhat cowed by their circumstance.
The saddest thing of all is that we feel like we can't help any of them. We think we have the knowledge, the calm energy, and the patience to bring them back from the dark psychological places they're floundering in...but with full time jobs, we just don't have the time and attention that they'd need to turn them around.
Maybe one day, when we have a calm, stable pack, we could think about taking one of these poor mutts home...but for now, we're going to have to look elsewhere.
We're in touch with the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (whose breeding centre is just nearby), and we've had a good word put in for us by our (and their) vets...so we're hoping to get on the list for a failed guide dog of whatever breed...
We're also looking for any adult dogs for sale that fit our specification.
So it's all a bit of a waiting game...
In the meantime, it was nice to have a moment's connection to this dog at the shelter today...he and his little Jack Russell buddy had been dashing frantically between their indoor and outdoor rooms, over-excited about all the activity in the centre, and no idea what else to do with it...
But he stopped long enough to briefly enquire of me what I thought I was doing...it was kind of painful not to get skin on fur - it's such a natural way to communicate with a dog - but lovely to get the momentary psychological connection, at least.
In other news, check out this impressive website that my daughter has just launched...if you know of anyone getting married soon, do point them in the direction of Pingle Pie...they won't be disappointed!
I'm so proud!
:-)
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