Dog Gone

Well I finally found a new home for the dog that was making my life miserable.  Unfortunately now, my husband is miserable because the dog is gone...sigh...no win situation is what he says. He says that he just wanted me to quit griping and bitching about Taz, but when a dog causes damage and tears up shoes(everyone in the family lost at least 2 pairs of shoes thanks to this little guy), toys, clothes, electrical equipment, plants, furniture, and countless utensils, it's time to find him a new place to live.  I was under quite a bit of stress and was really needing for that dog  to be gone so I wouldn't "SNAP" and hurt the little thing.  I am so relieved to have found some people to take him.  I was very careful in selection, and was not going to give him to just anyone.  These people actually had a larger dog and wanted a buddy for him.  They brought Rocco over, and introduced him to Taz, who immediately followed him around, trying to jump on him.  It was funny to see Rocco peeing on whatever he could, and Taz following and peeing behind him.  I wasn't sure at first if it would happen because Taz seemed a bit scared of Rocco's owners, but he loved Rocco immediately, and couldn't get enough of him!  This dog Rocco looks to be a Lab Mix, large, friendly, patient, and just happy to be alive.  My youngest daughter followed the larger dog around and kept hugging on him, which was pretty cute to watch.  After about 45 minutes of seeing how the two dogs interacted, the couple decided to go ahead and take Taz home.  Of course I was a little sad to see him go, because I had grown a little attached to him.  I love animals, and don't ever want to see them miserable, or depressed.  Taz was out of control at our house, and didn't have enough play time.  When I asked how he did this morning, Rocco's "mom" texted me back, that Taz was great last night, no whining or crying.  This morning he even went up to her leg and let her pet him without nipping.  I was so glad to hear that.  I'm hoping to keep in touch with her and make sure that everything is going alright. 

Last night after Taz left, my husband sulked around all evening.  He was upset about it, and angry with me I guess.  I got defensive because he knew how much stuff had been damaged by that dog, and that there was an incredible amount of stress around the house because we couldn't ever do anything without correcting the dog for chasing our Chihuahua, who didn't want to play, or share food, or anything fun, or chasing our cats, tackling one and pulling him around by the scruff of his neck, or making my cat hiss at him when he jumped on top of her.  My oldest also had problems with Taz trying to hump her constantly, if she was ever at his level, and despite our warnings about getting on the floor to play with him, she would do it anyway, and inevitably end up with a scratch or something to show for playing with him.  It wasn't that he was a mean dog, just dominant, and had established his dominancy in our home despite what my husband had tried to do to squelch the alpha tendency.  I believe with his "temper" he might have hurt the dog if he had continued to live with us.  I believe that this was the best thing to do, to protect our sanity, and the dog himself. 

Our neighbors also had called Animal Control because of Taz's barking and we could tell that they didn't like him because of the lack of communication with them ceased once Animal control came by and discovered that Taz was inside most of the time, and we didn't let him out too early or too late.   Besides the fact they have 3 dogs and 1 cat that roams the neighborhood, they simply stopped talking to us, or even looking our way when we pulled into the drive.  That didn't bother us much truthfully, because we don't really like them anyway, but it's never fun to have neighbors who are always willing to call the authorities on you for any type of indiscretion.

Well, it's back down to 1 dog now, who doesn't even act like a dog!  Hopefully my husband will get over his anger at having to get rid of Taz, and will move on, and realize it's for the best.  I know I have!