On Owning A Rambunctious Dog

We have had Poppy for almost two years.

On the whole, she has been a handful.  She has chewed multiple items constantly.  She wants to play all the time.  When she occasionally gets out, plan on spending the next hour chasing her as to her it is a game (and a great way to meet neighbors).

It is to the point that our very kind, very sweet dog sitter whom Poppy visits once a week to play with her pack, told The Ravishing Mrs. TB in the kindest way possible that she was going to have to charge full price because she was "spirited" (a very kind way of saying "almost unmanageable").

As I was pondering all of this and asking the question (as I sometimes do) what in Heaven's name we adopted such a dog for, I was suddenly struck by the fact that maybe it was not about us at all.  Maybe it was really all about her.

In our age of "me-ism" and convenience, I think it safe to say that there are many who would simply have gotten rid of her at this point:  The chewing.  The chasing.  The constant "Me Me Me" of a young dog.  The floor that has scratch marks and the furniture with ground in marshmallow from eating a box of them.  The cost of boarding and bills and medicines and foods.

 So maybe the whole reason Poppy is here is because God knew, somehow, that she needed such a family until she grows up too, one that would be committed to her even as she drove them crazy up to that point.  

The fact that we are inconvenienced by this may be somewhat incidental.