a hard decision

When we got Jade last May we had an idea in our heads of how it would be. We thought she would be an inside/outside dog. Coming in with us and go out to play with the kids. We envisioned taking her on car rides with us and to the park. Not long after having her we found out that Kieralee was allergic to her. We contemplated then on whether to keep her or find her a new home and we decided that we would keep her. You see she is Lathen's best friend (besides his sister). So we kept Jade in the backyard and the kids got to play with her when they were out there. It was really hard because I'm just not one of those people that like to get a dog just to leave it in the backyard, bored and digging holes. Over Christmas we drove the long 18 hours to NC to visit our families and took Jade with us. Within an hour Kieralee sounded like she had the worst cold of her life. It was then that Kevin and I realized how bad her allergy really is. But we were still stuck between a rock and a hard place. How do you keep the dog knowing that it makes your little girl sick but at the same time how to get rid of your little boys best friend. I mean this boy goes out and talks to Jade, snuggles her in her doghouse, he loves her. It had been weighing on us for a while. Part of us felt guilty because we knew how bad Jade wanted to come inside and how much she hated being alone in the backyard.

Finally we sat down and had a family counsel about it. We talked to Lathen about Jade and finding her a home where she could sleep inside, go for car rides etc. We also talked about finding a hypoallergenic dog that could be all those things for our family. Lathen tried to be tough, but the minute he went to say that he would let Jade go, his little bottom lip quivered and he broke down. He curled up in his daddy's lap and sobbed. It was heart wrenching. After some more talking Lathen did decide to let Jade find a home where people don't have allergies. I posted Jade for adoption last week. The next day after posting her I had an email. The lady came by yesterday with her husband to look at Jade and it was love at first sight. They have a huge backyard and they have two kids; a four year old and a two year old (just like us).

So yesterday we said goodbye to Jade. It was really hard, Jade is seriously a terrific dog. She talks any and all abuse from our kids and just loves it. Lathen hugged Jade and kissed her...and then when they went to leave I asked him if he wanted to tell her bye one more time and he said no. It was then I saw that the walls of bravery that he had showed while the people were visiting were coming down. As Jade walked out the front door, Lathen took off running the other way. When the people were gone, Kevin and I found Lathen crying. He cried for awhile. After we felt like Lathen had had a good cry over his loss we turned the focus onto what he would be getting and what Jade was getting. That seemed to help. Later he want outside and when I went to check on him he was crying again. We had another good talk and I think he is doing better, at least he hasn't cried today...yet.

When Kieralee got up from her nap I had the unlucky pleasure of telling her. She quickly ran outside to check if Jade was there, she called for her and then she came running back to me sobbing. (don't worry we had talked about Jade leaving before her nap and she did get to pet Jade and give her a hug before she went down) Kieralee wouldn't be pacified by the thought of a new puppy so she was a bit of a challenge. Finally she just came around on her own.

So there you have it. Jade has a new home and we are on the prowl for a dog that won't flare Kieralee's allergies.