Missing Hughie

It is a bit of a frustrating day. Just as some background, we put my dog, Hughie, a twelve year old Bassett Hound to sleep last year on May 2nd. I've missed him quite a bit since then. He was a great dog and I know I will never be able to replace him. I have been wanting another one though, mostly because I miss his company. I know they are a lot of work, but I really think they are worth it.


Anyway, I've had plenty of opportunities to get other Bassett Hounds. It culminated yesterday when the local animal shelter got a 4 month old Bassett puppy in. He was a very nice looking animal (though I would argue based on his size that he was closer to 6 months than 4). I took my whole family to look at him. He immediately rushed over to my 14 month old son and started licking him. Balin (my son) was laughing and hugging the puppy. They got along well immediately. My daughter also liked him (though she was a bit more preoccupied with the cats they had). In the end, she wanted to take him home too. My oldest daughter, while not really caring, said she really liked him and would love to have him in our home.

The problem came with my wife. She didn't want him. It wasn't that she didn't like him, she did. She saw a lot of our old dog in him and if there is one person that misses Hughie, it's my wife. The problem is that she only knows Hughie and was afraid that he was going to pose some of the same problems that Hughie did. She didn't want to have to commit to walking him every day. She didn't want to deal with being woke up in the middle of the night to let him outside. She didn't want to worry about the barking, the dog hair, the yard cleanup, the feeding, the watering and all the stuff that goes along with having a dog.

In the end, she told me to get him. I told her no. I'm not going to get a dog unless everyone in the family wants him and is willing to care for him. I work two jobs, so I can't commit to taking care of him all the time. What it comes down to, and I told my wife this, is that I will likely never be a pet owner again. She isn't as compelled as I am to have animal companionship and I'm not about to force an animal on her.

About an hour ago I called the shelter and told them to take the puppy over hold, that we were no longer interested in adopting him. I think that this was a mistake because I know that this was a special dog. Makes for a sad day.