We found the perfect dog. He is a Jack Russell terrier mix that is…shocking…calm. He is very sweet, submissive (in a good way), and obedient. He is already housetrained. He likes to play, yet is content to stop when you are finished and have a good cuddle. There is only one problem.
Gracie HATED him. Brother Wolf allows you to bring home a prospective dog on a trial basis. Gracie was very aggressive toward him. It escalated so quickly that we were nervous about leaving them alone together.
As much as we loved this new dog, it came down to an issue of safety. Do we risk physical or emotional injury to him (or even Gracie) while we try to “make it work” between them? In good conscience, we could not do it. With very heavy hearts and tears in our eyes, we returned him to Brother Wolf. (Don't worry; Brother Wolf is a no-kill shelter.)
I am happy to say that he has yet to appear on their website. I have a strong suspicion that he has been adopted. As I said, he is the perfect dog.
So, what does this mean for our search? We are halting it. Gracie appears to be one of those rare dogs who is content to live alone. She is happy with the occasional “meet and greet” in a park, on a trail, et cetera. We will focus on improving her socialization skills in that way. If, by some miracle, a dog wanders into our yard and Gracie falls in love, then we will have another dog. Otherwise, things do not look good for adding another dog to our household.
Gracie is not sad about this at all. Since the other dog left, she has been extremely happy. At the end of the day, that’s what it is all about!
Rescue Mommy
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