The danger of having good friends who are veterinarians is that sometimes, they end up with more animals than they can keep themselves. When that happens, they tend to give away the extras to people they like.
That’s how we ended up with a new black Lab puppy right before Christmas. A vet friend of ours found herself in possession of the pup, but she knew she already had more than enough animals herself. Since the little female Lab came from a hunting line, and because she seemed to have a special affinity for kids, our vet friend and her husband thought the pup should find a forever home with a family who had kids and who would take the dog hunting.
So naturally, they thought of me. Right. Because I don’t have enough animals myself, too.
I resisted visiting their house for as long as I could, knowing if I stopped by, they’d foist the little rascal off on me. But in a moment of weakness, I thought maybe I could take the kids over there just to see the pup, and we’d politely tell our friends thanks, but no thanks.
Sure. Like that was going to happen.
So now we’re a four-dog household. The good news is that half the dogs are hunting dogs, so I should be in good shape for bird hunting for the next decade or so. I wasn’t exactly planning to fit training a new dog into my schedule, but I’ve said myself that having a hunting dog is a good excuse to get outside more often. So I guess I’ll be taking my own advice.
I just hope my house and my original hunting dog survive this new one’s puppyhood.
