the breeder held me responsible and made me feel absolutely miserable for having failed Boomer.
...put Boomer in the "tried my best, but even then, it doesn't always work" category.
Still feel a little guilty though.
xpost with Barb!
Boy, I wish you didn't feel guilty. As evidenced by my posting about Hagrid in Bitches this week, I think there is no braver or more necessary decision than doing right by a dog that is not right for you.
I get that breeder's livelihoods depend on never having to make a refund...or to say they're sorry--and I'm not even trying to be funny--when they are asked to reclaim an obviously problematic dog...but it's ridiculous when they berate demonstrably goodhearted people who have done their best.
Good friends had a Staffordshire Terrier with rage syndrome. Rare, but in this case, totally documented...as were the many thousands of dollars they spent on every kind of help for the dog they clearly loved. The breeder chose to invoke the women's sexuality as the reason they couldn't 'handle the breed.' Fucker. Tell that to the sweetest, BEST behaved Staffie they have now.
Anyway, all this to say, I applaud your choice Barb. You did the right thing!
My sister's in-laws had a pair of Newfies named Bigfoot & Blossom. So freakin' adorable. But they had a 10 acre farm and the dogs had plenty of space and a whole barn to sleep in. I don't remember them being very active at all. Big hair loaves, really. But fairly sweet natured.
Any dog of size can get a bad rap because their bites can be bad.
Big hair loaves
This should be a band name!
Patricia McConnell, one of my favorite behaviorists has a chapter on rehoming in The Other End of the Leash.
eta: link opens on the actual chapter. Gotta love sample pages!
t lays quilt over Dana, tucks teddy under her arm
toward the literary when my writing is decidedly... not.
I liked the 2000 words of draft opening I read. It's more appealing to me that most "literary" stuff.
I am so tired and I don't know why. I went to bed on time.
I have no idea how I'm going to drive home.
eta: Oh, and they are saying 4 inches of snow tomorrow which makes me tired just hearing about it.
Video of the world's smallest horse.
So cute.
I liked the 2000 words of draft opening I read. It's more appealing to me that most "literary" stuff.
Thanks, Gud. That means a lot, actually, since it's my biggest insecurity with my writing-- that feeling of not knowing exactly where it fits and trying to come to grips the idea that not knowing, or at least, not having a comfortable niche, might be a good thing in the end.
Just makes for a hard sell.
However, this is actually for a full manuscript I wrote some time ago, which leans more towards the women's fiction end of the spectrum, except I break some quote/unquote rules, hence the difficulty finding comparisons. They're out there. They just require some creative thinking.
Reaistically a Newf would be too much dog for me, but they are my fantasy dog. (I think this fantasy also involve a life of leisure with a house by the ocean for the dog's daily swims.) Also, I'd probably get a rescue if I got a dog,so I may end up with a mutt.
Barb, I am so sorry about Boomer. That must be heartbreaking. I know my parent's got rid of a dauchsund shortly before I was born because it nipped, and my mom was afraid what it would do to a baby crawling all over it.
Conversely nephew grew up with a chocolate lab, Bear, and that dog was so incredibly tolerant of all the abuse that a baby/toddler can give.
