Rascal

This blog's essence was life-altering events. And, boy... have we had a few of those over the years. It would seem appropriate therefore, to tackle the blog-post-drought with news of a new addition to our family... Rascal.

The kids have wanted a dog for a very long time, and have been trying all sorts of ways to try and convince me that we need one. I have been very anti-pet as I knew who would end up looking after the pet after the initial excitement wore off. Yes. Me. Besides, the kids CANNOT keep their toys well enough together to prevent being a risk for an animal.

However, Luc surprised me this Summer, with the diligence and responsibility he exhibited while dog-sitting some neighbor's dogs. I was most impressed.

Paul informed Luc that he should attempt to wear me down with constant requests for a dog - not all the time, just once per day... but EVERY day without fail. Out of frustration one day, I told Luc he could have a dog if he could ride his bike. Luc has been very slow to warm to bike-riding. Upon hearing this *obviously* flippant comment, Luc dragged his bike from the garage and attacked bike-riding with abandon!

My bluff had been called... so I did what any person in my position would do - I began stalling. As my stalling tactics began to be met by a growing angst, I began researching, to try and determine the best-breed-fit for our family. Paul and I both grew up with working dogs - various combinations of Border Collies, Kelpies, Blue Heelers and other *smart* dogs. Neither of us could abide the thought of a *dumb* dog... but also wondered how-on-earth we could keep a working dog happy in a house setting.

I did some online owner-dog-match surveys - and one came up with the best match as an Australian Shepherd. Of course, the name appealed. I found out a little more, and they did seem ideal... and particularly more so when Paul suggested a Beagle - and I uncovered how full of 'doggy-odor' Beagles can be, and how they like to howl and to dig. Uh ah.

I did still have an issue with size. The smart working dogs from Paul's and my childhood - were OUTSIDE dogs. I have always had somewhat of an aversion to dogs living indoors. The weather we experience, living where we do, demands that dogs live INDOORS. Impasse.

...Then, I found out there were miniature versions of Australian Shepherds, AND there were breeders in Virginia! I wrote to a few and they were all very helpful with their comments and suggestions. We thought we could at least *look* at some to see how big they actually were, and assess the breed's temperament for ourselves.

We visited Circle A Farm, north of Culpeper, and met Alice and her lovely, friendly and good-looking dogs. We were all smitten. We were lucky enough to see some just-born puppies in a litter that was arriving during our visit. Nic and Mietta were quite intrigued with these 'squeaky puppies'. Luc became quite attached to a young 4 month-old puppy named Rascal. Alice had originally intended to keep Rascal for breeding, but had since decided to sell as she had obtained another sire from a different bloodline.

As we were there on an investigative mission only, and had no intention of buying immediately, Alice suggested we could take Rascal home for a week, to see if he might be a good fit. We told her we would think about it as we extracted Rascal from Luc's embrace.

Much debate ensued on the drive home, and for the rest of Sunday. We could see the benefits of a 'mostly' house-trained young pup and decided we would give it a try... Hence, Rascal came to stay with us on Monday. After two days of his lovely disposition and nature... seeing Luc bond... and appreciating how smart Rascal is, we decided he'd be a keeper.

Hence, Rascal is now part of our family. Mietta now has the 'little brother' she wanted - without any of the drama that would result if she actually had a little brother (Mietta cannot abide any children younger than herself - she refers to them as 'stinky babies').