The dog that wasn’t meant to be

I’ve always been a cat person. I can, of course, name them all: Sandy, Tess, Molly, Clancy, Jenny, Angie, Tri, Roxie, Stella and now Maisie. 

I’ve never had a dog. Never considered having a dog. In 2020, when the world shut down and Joe and I started going for walks with his friend’s dog Lexi, for the first time I realised okay, they do make you go for walks and that’s good. It wasn’t until Lexi was returned to her owner and Georgie came into Joe’s life that things changed. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t dislike dogs. I like ’em fine. (Well, most of them.) I just had no interest in having a dog. After I met Georgie, I did want a dog. Problem was that the dog I wanted was Georgie and there was absolutely no way Joe was giving her up. Also, I’d made a promise to Stella after Roxie died, that I would never bring another animal into the house during her lifetime.

After Stella died late last year, my friend Jane suggested I think about a dog, but that was impractical. There was one insurmountable problem: I did not have a fenced back yard and there is no way to create one. Dogs need to go out to pee and poo. With no fenced yard, that meant going outside with the dog on a lead and waiting for it to do its business in all weather. No, thank you. When my friend Catherine was visiting recently she pointed out that there was another viable option: a dog line (or whatever they’re called). Hmm, I thought. Good to know.

I think Maisie would be fine with a companion other than me. So I was sort of letting the possibility resurface. Not that I was looking. If I had been looking, I would have been looking for a Georgie sized dog or perhaps something smaller. Although not too much smaller. I wouldn’t consider a chihuahua. I like dogs to be dogs.

And then something happened.

Some days ago there was a post on the community Facebook page. The retiring lighthouse keeper needed to rehome her two dogs. She’s already found a home the female, but she still needed to find a new home for her two-year-old boy. 

Soon after she updated her post to say a home had been found. No surprise. Lots of people would be willing to welcome this handsome, healthy guy into their homes. On Saturday I saw another post. The new home had fallen through. 

Obviously this dog is way bigger than I had ever considered, but I kinda fell for his story and was surprised no one on the island was keen to take him in. This second post contained a vital piece of visual information.

To my surprise, I found myself sending a message to the owner. We back and forthed for a while, with her assuring me he was pretty well trained and the biggest love bug of any dog she’d ever had. We agreed to have a proper chat today. I sent the second post to a number of people, saying I was astonished that I was considering meeting this dog. Jane replied immediately with “Do it!” Joe was more measured, asking what the Pros and Cons were. Decided to write a list.

CONS

• Big dog, small house (although at least that means he wouldn’t fit through the large cat flap we had installed for big galoot Tri).
• How much do they eat and how much would that cost?
• How on earth would I ever bathe him? (Gotta love the way cats clean themselves.)
• Cannot be walked without a leash.
• I don’t have a fenced back yard (although apparently you can buy and install a dog line to clip him on to).
• I have no experience with dogs whatsoever.

PROS

• I’d get exercise every day.
• Unconditional love.

The list of Pros was a lot shorter, but for, I should imagine, obvious reasons, it had a lot more going for it.

By yesterday afternoon I had talked myself into arranging to meet the dog today, knowing full well that if I did, I would fall for him.

I had assumed the owner was still on the island, looking for new doggy homes before she had to leave, but when I looked at her messages again, I realised this might not actually be the case. Sent a message to clarify. No, she was not still on the island. She is now living in the city on the mainland, which makes a meet and greet nigh on impossible. She just wanted the dogs, who were not taking to urban life, to be rehomed on the island they knew. 

So, having pretty much talked myself into a large dog, I now had no dog on the horizon. He’s a beautiful boy and, as I wrote back, I was sure she would find a very loving home for him, I wished them both the best of luck, for which she thanked me.

Oh, well. Obviously wasn’t meant to be.