Last year we raised a puppy for The Seeing Eye. Back in October we got to see her working in harness and were assured by her trainer that she was ready for service. Last night we got a call that she was being dropped from the program because she was "aggressive" to other dogs.
What I really think happened was that she got caught in a surplus of dogs and she just was too long at the kennel basically negating all of the good we had done by home raising her for a year and a half. When a dog washes out the family that raised her gets the right of first refusal. We spent the last 24 hours agonizing about whether we wanted to take her back. In the end, we realized that we do not have the time or patience for this. It's a hard decision since we were really quite fond of her but I, at least, was not prepared for a 12 plus year commitment. We simply are not around enough and to add this to our burden didn't seem fair to us or the dog.
I'm sure The Seeing Eye will find her an excellent home.
I think that I'd be willing to raise another puppy but I like the idea of a short term pet.
A Photo a Day captured by Charles Rubin of Westfield New Jersey. By day he is employed at a major metropolitan newspaper. In his spare time he likes to read, bake bread, ride his bicycle, and spend time with his family. Please feel free to contact him at shaiwest@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment