I have been thinking about how to write this for weeks now. Life just got crazy, and the blog slipped through the cracks (per usual). Long story short, we no longer have Penny Lane Livingston. We had to give her up.
Some background: We got Penny when we were newly engaged, and she stole Dave's heart as the most submissive little pup. Her breeder loved her weim Mildred so much that she decided to breed her. It was Mildred's first of 2 total litters. When we arrived to her house in Brookshire, the puppies were all running around the yard gnawing on watermelon rinds. Dave has continued to toss Penny his watermelon scraps over the years. She clearly fell for him hard from the beginning. She stood out to us because she would let you flip her on her back without squirming to get away.
As sweet as Penny is, she is a bit nutty. She has the typical sporting breed nervous energy, which I foolishly thought I would nurture by "becoming a runner." Dear friends, if you choose a dog breed based on the idea that you'll take up a new exercise hobby, please don't. Not only did I not start running, but I had a few babies over the years, so Penny's exercise regimen fell by the wayside. Penny decided from a young age that crates were not for her, so she continued to escape from them daily until we started to let her hang in the backyard during the day. The backyard became her kingdom.
She was the ultimate sibling to the babes. She has never so much as made a peep as they grew up crawling all over her.
[Exhibit A]
[Exhibit B]
[Exhibit C]
Despite Penny's overall awesomeness, we had a couple of troubling incidents with her. A few years ago while we were dog sitting for a friend, Penny attacked Laci in the backyard. The other dog was not involved whatsoever, but it seemed like the presence of a third female with a similar nervous presence caused Penny to lash out at the little guy, Laci wiener. At that point I seriously wondered if it was a good idea to keep her. But keep her we did. We became extra careful while dog sitting.
A few weeks ago, I had a friend bring her boys over for a play date. We sat at the dining room table chatting and drinking coffee while the kiddos ran around and played. They played inside and also outside where we could hear and check them through the window (which happens often around here). Penny was outside as usual. Suddenly, I heard Piper screaming and ran out to see what was happening. Penny was attacking Laci. My friend's two little boys and Piper watched the whole thing while screaming and crying as I attempted to break up this one-sided dog fight. It took maybe thirty seconds to get Penny to stop, but it felt like forever (with me screaming at her and beating her with my giant purse). I quickly herded Penny into the guest room and went to get Laci, who was pretty much lying there in shock. The only cause I can speculate is that these boys maybe weren't as dog savvy and may have been a bit more high-energy than other kids who have visited before. This may have triggered some anxiety in Penny, who in turn exerted dominance on the little guy, Laci. Either way, I didn't see it coming. It's the first play date that has ever ended at my house with me holding a towel to my dog's neck and hoping she didn't bleed to death. I apologized over and over to my friend. Despite this horrible experience, a few positive things mark that day:
- Nothing happened to the kids, praise God. JD was asleep and Myla was at Vacation Bible school. While the dog fight was happening and kids were scared, I looked at them and said, "Stay back! Don't move," and blessedly, they listened. You guys, 2, 3, and 4 year olds aren't always known for their obedience, so this was good. They wanted to run to their moms, but they listened and obeyed.
- My friend was able to go pick Myla up from VBS. I couldn't get my head together enough to ask her and coordinate it, but she offered and made it happen. One less thing to think about.
- Dave works nearby and was able to come home right away. No questions asked, he left the office to come home and take Laci to the vet.
- We quickly found someone to foster Penny. I knew I could not force Laci to return home to the dog who bit her once again, so we boarded Penny for a few days until we could find a good home for her. She is currently being fostered by a breeder who also takes in rescues until she can find them a good home. This lady is a weimaraner person. She owns 6 of them. She knows and loves the breed. Penny has done great with her so far, and the woman was undeterred when I was completely honest with her about out situation. She gets it.
- When this whole thing happened, we didn't know we would be putting our house on the market mere weeks later and navigating the whole showings/house hunting/temporarily homeless situation. This would have been much more difficult with an extra dog to coordinate. We are currently nomads. I mean, I am already asking my family to house my party of 5 (plus one wiener dog). One less large dog is slightly less stress. I hate to say it, but it's true.
It was NOT fun taking Penny away after having this dog for almost her whole life. I beat myself up thinking that I failed her, or that if our circumstances had been different (we didn't have small kids, we didn't have Laci, or I took her for daily runs to burn energy, etc), this never would have happened. But it all came down to this: I do have small children, and I can't run the risk that she could be aggressive ever again. I do have another dog who has been bitten twice now. I can't have her living the rest of her life with her aggressor.
I miss Penny. I know her foster mom will find her a great home, and I look forward to receiving the update that she has found the best match for her.
So now we're one step closer to being all caught up...
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