The cats are pissed

We got a dog. His name is Blackjack and he's very sweet. He's a Schipperke- which I'd never heard of- a Belgian boat dog.

Why did we get a dog? What were you thinking? Are you crazy? (That was my Mom's reaction when I told her).

I may be crazy, but there were some actual reasons and I was actually thinking. This is really about Baby Monster. For him, having to give up our old dog, Dogmo, is all tied up in the divorce and all that that has brought. Well, those two events were, in reality tied together, but for him as well, all of that sadness is tied together too. He still really misses his dog.

For another thing, school is really tough for him. It's not that he's not smart and not even that he's not doing well or that he doesn't have friends. It's that it's not an optimal environment for a Baby Monster. It's big and rough and bureaucratic and regimented. It takes a huge amount of his energy to get through his days there. His teachers describe him as eager and curious and he learns, but he does not feel a sense of ownership over his learning. He has friends and plenty of people like him, but it is tough to navigate the unfamiliar social landscape (especially the older kids on the bus who are sometimes not very nice). All of that is to say that school is an area that drains him completely and does not fulfill him at all.

If there's one thing that Baby Monster loves, it's animals. He's good at animals. He feels connected to and nurtured by them as well as fulfilled by his ability to nurture them. He has been very responsible in caring for his Guinea pig and is diligent and enthusiastic about caring for the horses he rides. So I'm hoping that Blackjack will be a kind of antidote to school.

All that may be compelling but somewhat irrelevant to the fact that a dog is just one more responsibility that ultimately falls on my shoulders. I get that and it's a real consideration. However, in thinking it through, I decided that now, rather than later, is actually a good time to make this transition. Right now, I'm actually home in and out throughout the day. I have a lot of places to be (always) but I have flexibility and am not away for long stretches of time. Also, I have housemates who are willing to help out if I need it and usually here if I'm out of town.

So all of that and the daily questions from Baby Monster, "When can we get a dog?!!!!!!!" have been rolling through my mind and we happened upon this dog, a rescue, who needed a home. He meets Baby Monster's requirement that he be a "wolf dog"- that is that he have pointy ears and a snout - and he met my requirement that he be small. He's only 20 lbs full grown.

We've had 2 days of adjustment and so far, he's doing great. He seems completely house trained- have mercy- but I'm being super vigilant as well. He's very smart, but completely untrained, so I'm thinking we may need to do a class with him. The challenges will be that he is very high energy. That's good in a way because he'll be a great running companion, but will also keep us on our toes. And he hates to be alone. He does not like to be out in the yard by himself and will bark a little high pitched bark until someone joins him. That will have to be nipped in the bud. On the other hand, he's perfectly happy to be where ever we are.

And then, one of the roles of the "Belgian boat dog" is to get rid of "vermin." So far he seems to put the cats in that category. He's INTENSELY interested in chasing them and vigorously investigating them. They are INTENSELY interested in being as far away as possible from him.