Can we get another dog tomorrow?!

My dear daughter "Munchkin" has regularly requested since Sammie's death that we go find another dog "to be here with us all the time." A minute ago she said: "Can we get a new dog TOMORROW?! A dog we can train, that will live with us. I'll feed it!"

Our neighbor dog Selena is visiting with Pepper this afternoon. It's good for both of them, I think, but Munchkin knows Selena will return home. She's just a visitor. Selena, a Rottie mix, lost her older sister Sadie a couple of months ago so she has been through what poor Pepper is experiencing now. Pepper and Selena have had their fun in the VERY HOT sun and are both inside on the cool tile panting, relaxing, and hoping to get some of Munchkin's snack!

Pepper, by the way, is a black lab/border collie/blue heeler mix who weighs in just under 70 lbs. Her mommy was found dumped pregnant on the side of the road. We got her from a rescue organization when she was still a pup. Sammie ultimately chose her, you may recall, from an earlier blog entry.

So, back to adopting a new doggie. Yes, adopting. We won't be buying a dog. In fact, I've decided I prefer the unique characteristics of mixed breeds over the relatively predictable looks of pure breds, so I doubt we'll be adopting a rescued pure bred dog either. Funny, huh? Not that I don't have preferred breeds. I do. Very much so. In dog show parlance, I'm strictly a working or sporting dog person. "Real" dogs as I call them. Dogs that don't need haircuts and prefer bandannas to bows. Dogs that know they are dogs and don't mistake themselves for cats (think Odie rather than Garfield personality).

Please don't write and harass me that your Papillon or Chihuahua or Scottie is the best thing ever. Of course they are to YOU. That's why you got them. But I like hound dogs. Retrievers. Dogs whose ancestors rounded up other animals or helped hunt. Dogs you'd pay to see run fast or do incredible agility exercises. Dogs from breeds that train to serve as guide dogs, police dogs, rescue dogs ... Those kinds of dogs. Dogs like Pepper. Dogs like Sammie...