Fluff for Brains

Our sweet Maisy has gone to a better place.

No, she didn't die...we just found her a new home.

Here's the thing about Maisy. She was cute and fuzzy and the sweetest dog you'll probably ever meet. She was great with kids. She tried her best to be a good dog. Not the smartest dog (That's putting it as nicely as I can), but she tried hard.

But...Problem #1: She needed medical attention we couldn't give her. She had horrible allergies that made her scratch until she bled. She scratched ALL the time. She would even stop mid-fetch to scratch. The poor dog was miserable. It took years, but we finally found medicine that would work for her. However, the cost would be $100 every month. We couldn't commit to that, so she just suffered.

Problem #2: She was neglected. I would love to say that I have everything under control; the laundry is always done, the house is always clean, always a home-cooked meal on the table with perfect looking/acting kids - but that just isn't the case. I run around like a crazy person all day long just trying to keep the minimum maintained - doing what is necessary, and every now and then, being able to add to that. Maisy got the short end of that stick. In the summers she would get walked regularly, but not when it was cold out. She was rarely played with and even more rarely bathed. It wasn't that we didn't love her, it was that she didn't demand attention and so she didn't get any.

Problem #3: When we moved to this new house that has no doggy door and no fenced yard, she didn't adapt well. She had to be crated at night - which she hated and after a couple of days, she'd hide and shake anytime she thought she'd have to go in her crate. She had several accidents and chewed a baseboard and scratched the finish off the door. I was already stressed with the move and I just said, "Enough."

There was a lot of back and forth about the decision, but I finally put an ad in the classifieds detailing her sweet personality and her medical needs; asking for someone who could give her more than we were giving her. We had someone lined up and we mutually backed out at the same time. I couldn't go through with it. We had Maisy for 5 years. She was MY puppy. I loved her so much. A lady called a couple of weeks after I canceled the ad. I told her we had changed our minds. She told me to hang onto her number just in case.

I was glad I did. When we were selfish, the thought of giving Maisy away broke our hearts. When we thought about Maisy, we knew she would have a better life somewhere else. So, I called Julie (the 'lady') and she and her husband came to see her. They took her home that night - the night before Noelle's baptism - for a 'trial run.' They, of course, fell in love with her, and so about a week later, I took all of Maisy's stuff to her and said a 'goodbye' of sorts.

So, now Maisy lives in the mountains in Park City. She has a porch she goes out and sits in the sun on and watches the whole neighborhood. She goes on walks every day off leash with other dogs in the mountains (Julie is a dog walker by profession.) She gets bathed every other day and is on the medicine she needs and doesn't scratch AT ALL anymore. Julie and her husband treat her like she is the center of their world. Truly, she is in a better place.

I miss her so much. I still expect to see her every time I walk through the door. Every time I get emotional about it, though, I just try to think about how much better her life is now. It was the right choice to make.

We went to go and see her after Thanksgiving and she was so sweet. She pushed her head against my chest and left it there for a really long time. When it was time to go, she came outside with us. We told her to go back inside. She did, but then came right back to us again. She thought she was coming home with us. It was hard to say goodbye that time.

We'll go and visit her every now and then, and Julie sends us pictures to keep us up to date. It's hard, but she really was one of my babies and I can't just say goodbye for forever. I am so grateful that we found her the 'perfect' home. I really don't think we could've found her a better situation.

Here she is sharing a stick with another Wire Fox Terrier, Lucy, on a walk. Maisy is in the red sweater. Julie says they are the best of friends.

I'm guessing she's meeting the 'Top Dog!'

The funny/sad/ironic (is there a word for all three combined into one?) thing is that in thinking about all of the things I needed to blog about to catch up on what has been going on, I completely forgot about Maisy getting a new home. Such an important thing, completely forgotten about.

Story of her life..........until now.