Saying Goodbye...

Today I have come to the END of my rope...with our puppy Holly. I will back up a bit and explain how and why we got her, before telling why we are giving her back.

Carson has wanted a pet of his own for some time. Something to be responsible for, something to take care of and give him some self confidence. So I thought what a perfect Christmas gift for him. My mother in law breeds dogs and just bred Puggles. A cross between a Beagle and a Pug. They were ADORABLE puppies. She informed me of their temperament, and was trying to sway me into taking one of her Bichon Shizu puppies, which I declined. I just fell in love with the Puggles. So I took Carson down to grandma's to see what he thought. He loved the puppy grandma had picked out for him & he named her Holly. Now we had to figure out a way for "Santa" to get Holly to our house. So we managed that fairly well a few day early though. I wrote a letter explaining that Santa had to deliver Holly early because he didn't have room for her in his sleigh. In the letter he was told to take very good care of her, to feed and water her everyday and to give her lots of LOVE. He was so excited.

Now 2 months later....I have to admit Carson has done very well with the dog. He takes her out to go potty, feeds her 2 times a day and plays with her a lot. My problem and the reason for giving her back is that she STILL isn't house trained....after 2 months! We take her out constantly and still she has numerous accidents. She is a runner! If she gets out the front door, be prepared to spend at least 20 minutes chasing her in circles between our house and the neighbors before she will come into the back yard. Seriously that is the most frustrating part. And she still whimpers/barks/cries at night. I didn't know I was taking on another baby that gets up in the night. I am SO done with that. And to top it off she sheds...and it is getting bad. Forget about wearing black...it is instantly covered in hair. GROSS!

Today as I chased her around the yard for what seemed like an hour I had realized that I just couldn't put up with this any longer. That I should have listened to several people before taking on the responsibility of a puppy. That sometimes you just have to give up and realize that you have bitten off more than you can chew and carry on. I realized that sometimes my sanity is more important than dealing with something I can't handle. So I called my mother in law and she said, no problem she will take her back.

Carson has been crying...and CRYING...and CRYING! I feel completely awful but relieved at the same time. It is like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I won't be fuming any more when I walk in a nice warm puddle of pee on the floor. I won't want to pull my hair out anymore when I can smell dog poop somewhere in the house. That will all be OVER. But I will miss my little Holly snuggling with me while I watch t.v. I will miss her cute little face looking at me when she wants a treat. I hope Carson's heart will heal quickly. I told him we should take some pictures with him & Holly so he could always look at them and remember her. I hope that helps. I feel like a terrible mother taking something away from my child that he loves so much. I hope he doesn't hold my decision against me. I hope he can understand why she had to go back. I hope Holly goes to a good home, where she will be loved like we loved her!