Old dogs...

I know you're thinking that the story behind this title will be something to do with new tricks... but it's not. Really. I want to talk about old dogs.

First, I should preface this by saying, I'm not much of an animal person. Left to my own devices, I wouldn't have any at all. My husband likes a dog, so we have dogs. In the past, we have had A dog. Right now, we have two dogs.

We inherited Chip when DH's brother could not care for him any more. Read this--got thrown in jail. So, after their sister kept Chip for a year and got tired of him, DH jumped in the car, drove down and fetched Chip back to our digs in Tulsa. Chip, at his prime, was a challenging dog. He could Houdini out of any fencing. He was dark furred had a loud bark and very territorial. A little OCD for a dog. You could say "where's your ball?" and he would search around the perimeter for hours anxiously trying to find it so you could throw it for him. And he never got tired of you throwing that ball. Or frisbee.

Next, someone flung a puppy into the bed of a pickup truck while it was parked at WalMart. This dog, Sophie, came to us because the pickup truck bed owners had three dogs of their own. Sophie came, made nice with Chip and that was our pack.

Chip has long since quit hearing and caring about balls or frisbees. Unless you get his attention first, he won't even come when you call him. But 13 years old is OLD for a shepherd/chow mix. He's an old man and he moves around like one. Sophie is still relentlessly needy, even as a middle aged dog.

Now, I'm facing relocation overseas. I have these two dogs--old dogs--who need a new home. I look at them and know that I'll miss them, worry that I won't be able to find a place for them. They've been very good dogs. Okay, there was that one time when the fireworks scared them, but just the once.

It's actually easy to find a home for a puppy, or a young dog. But it's very hard to find a new home for an old dog. What do you say to a prospective new owner? "He won't hear you when you call his name!" "It takes him three minutes to get from the laying position to the standing position, so don't rush him." "She won't walk on a leash for you because she's terrified of cars, I think she might have been hit or something. She'll try to hide behind you every time a car passes."

These dogs are old. They are imperfect. One might say flawed. They still serve a purpose for me. They bark at strangers so the 'dog alarm' functions. And they keep me company, so I'm never alone.

But I'll be shipping out at the end of the summer. I can't take them to Northern Africa with me. I've got to either find a home for them, or drop them off at the humane society. I need to put my marketing hat on and try to word an Ad for Craig's List.

--Sandee Wagner