A little help from my friends...

Well we went to the vet today and it was a totally stressful thing. The appointment was at 5:00 PM but I just couldn't wait and went at 4:20 PM. We had Jenny and the boys and between my dog and my kids it seems more like my kids had the behavior issues. The vet assured me that with a little work the aggression would go away and by the end I began to see a faint glimmer of hope. Though I am so tired it's hard to keep a hold of that. So all I can say is that I am going to try.

"Dan in Real Life"

If you're heading to the movies any time soon you need to go see this movie. It is really good and EVERY review would tell you so. We went last weekend and REALLY enjoyed it - in fact we liked it so much we want to see it again! You can see the trailer from it on the side here - it is EXCELLENT!

Jenny Jenny Jenny

Well, if you've been reading this blog for a while you've probably heard of our dog Jenny. We are so divided in our feelings toward Jenny and I'm about to tell you a little bit of why. That was poor grammar but oh well. We got Jenny when she was a year and a half old. She was found as a puppy wandering the streets and given to any organization that provides foster homes for dogs until they find a permanent home. We were not the first family to give her a try. She had gone to two separate owners and had been brought back for reasons unknown to me. We got Jenny last summer so we have now had her just over a year.
Dog ownership is a confusing thing with some friends telling you that you should cherish your dog as a child while others encourage you to get rid of that thing as quickly as you can. And there are all of these things you are supposed to do to help your dog be a good dog - socialization in the first 16 weeks at the top of that list. Well, Jenny didn't get socialized in ANY good way. As far as I can tell she had a pretty rough life for the first few months. Which according to some dog sites - is everything. So Jenny is a "sweet" dog to us. She is not real friendly but she does lick us all the time - which I have just read isn't her being friendly - it's her showing her submissiveness. Usually that would be a good thing but Jenny is a scared dog. She is almost always sulking around with her tail between her legs - going from person to person licking them. She is rarely fun - in fact the longer we've had her the less fun she is...she just wants to retreat and be alone a lot of the time. And now when it comes to walks - she is a pain. If we meet or see no one then it's okay - but if we see another human being or dog - randomly Jenny goes nuts - like I want to kill you nuts. And I guess that has to do with her fear. She is terrified that they are all out to get her. The other day Andrew accidentally let her out and she ran out to an old woman who was walking past the house and starting into her - with raised hair, teeth bared, ready to kill. The woman was defending herself with an umbrella! How shameful you feel when you have to rescue other people from your totally terrifying dog! But then people come over and she is totally fine...what gives? I guess she feels safe in our home. She is chasing and barking at people more and more and we are getting worried that someone is going to get hurt. Tonight we decided to go for a walk through a lovely park but wouldn't you know it that a bunch of friendly dogs ran up to meet jenny - who was on a leash - and she went nuts and started a dog fight! Oh boy, the joys of dog ownership. We look with such envy at people with dogs that run around happily, tongues wagging, glad to meet anyone they come across.
So now here we are - I guess we could keep her under lock and key and make sure there is NO WAY she can get out - difficult with young kids - we could muzzle her for walks - and pay a bunch of money to a dog behaviorist. But why? Why put her through that as well as us? Part of me thinks Jenny is just an aggressive dog with ghosts creating such intense fear that she is past help. At least from us. You can't just give one of these dogs away to someone else and let it get EVEN worse. I always thought owning a problem dog would be less complicated than this...but maybe it never is. But more and more we are thinking the risk of keeping Jenny here on earth is not worth it. She'll be happier there and then we are sure that no one will ever get harmed by her.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
I am not saying we'll take your advice but I just wanted to write it all down and think about it...

Family of Five

Every once in a while - like today - I get a comment from this person...but I have no idea who you are...identify yourself please!

FAMILY OF FIVE WHO ARE YOU?