I'm going to pay homage to Lilith the best way imaginable - by getting another dog. I loved Lilith with all my heart, and it sucks that she's not here anymore, but I loved the time that we spent together so much that I want to do it again, despite the inevitable eventuality of death. The best way for me to honour Lil is to love another dog. Maybe it makes precious little sense, but I think Lil would approve. In fact, I think she'd be proud.
Anyway, my next dog will indeed be a chocolate lab, just like I've always wanted, and his expected date of birth is September 20th, which means I should be able to bring him home some time around November 10th. That should give me plenty of time to adequately grieve Lilith's absence and get ready for a puppy. It'll be a major change of pace, but caring for Lilith in her golden years taught me to be adaptable, so I think I'm up for it.
I finally settled on a breeder for two main reasons. First, when I checked 3 branches of the SPCA AND every rescue organization I could find online, they had very few dogs, and 80% of the ones they had were pit bulls or pit bull mixes. I think pit bulls are great, and I don't buy into the hype about their violent natures, but I intend to take this dog to my elementary school, and the parents might not understand. If parents complain, the district will most likely side with them, and I don't want the dog to sit at home all day when he could be with me at work. Anyway, I also tried looking for breeders rehoming dogs that had been returned to them for whatever reason, but they were few and far between, and the one I did find had jacked up the price by $400 because he knew how to sit, and was therefore "trained" according to her. Ummm, no. It just didn't seem to be working, and then when I thought about training my future dog to be a therapy dog, I realized the importance of socialization during weeks 8-12, so I concluded that a puppy would be best.
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| What the future dog might look like |
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