You’re probably right.  She had, after all, spent her entire existence in the company of other dogs.  Good as her human family is for her, there are surely things that only canine-to-canine interaction can provide.

The issue, then, is what sort of beastie would work best with her and your collective lifestyle.  Not that I’m full of ideas.

I really don’t know. Whether to get a puppy and raise it and train it according to our lifestyle or adopt a young dog from a shelter. I think I’d lean more toward puppy since Terry does have her territory well defined now. When Terry moved in, Peeps was already established and Terry fit herself into his way of doing things. I’m not sure trying to mesh two adult dogs would be wise at this point. With a puppy, Terry would have a role in raising/training it. Then again, I’m really not sure if my thinking is sound in that regard.

I have no idea what kind of dog, though. It would probably have to be small. I just don’t have enough room around here for two Terry sized dogs.

And to be quite honest, I’m not all that eager to have another dog. If one walked through the door, I’d fall in love instantly, I’m sure. But I don’t think I’m over losing Peeps and another dog doesn’t enthuse me yet. But, the issue is Terry’s need, which hugely affects the entire household. She is so restless and distracted and unhappy that she’s making me crazy. A puppy for Terry may be the ticket for keeping me from going bonkers while we’re all shut in this winter.

A puppy from the gulf region perhaps?

Oh, you know, I think you just piqued my interest Phillip. Anyone have any ideas from where these pups can be adopted?

Our local shelter drove two vans down to New Orleans. They were loaded with donated pet supplies. On the return trip one was loaded with cats, the other dogs. Maybe some shelters in your neck of the woods did the same thing.

Get two. You can name one Mikey (Brown), and the other one Georgie Porgy.

Petfinder, but you’re a fur piece away from their area of operation.

Me? I woudn’t get another dog. Our current sheltie, Max, came as a puppy into a house that already had a dog: Whimsey. When Whimsey died a few years ago, Max soon adjusted, and I’d bet Terry will too. In any case, your son will soon be gone, and you will find yourself fabulously liberated. (Our offspring are all gone finally.) You will want to take weekend trips and do spontaneous stuff, but you’ll have to get someone to watch your pups, or you won’t go on the trips because you have pups to worry about. You’ll be tied down all over again. At least, that’s been our experience.

Yes, I’ve thought of that Pablo. But as long as I have Terry, I’m still kind of tied close to home unless I kennel her. Which I do from time to time. A little dog is much more portable though. They tend to travel well. And I’ve done quite a lot of traveling in the past with a little dog in tow.

I’ll hang in there with Terry for a couple more weeks and see if she settles down. I would prefer that she does.

Linkmeister - Petfinder is pretty far away. I’m sure I read someplace in the last week about an organization that will transport a rescued NOLA dog or cat a fairly large distance via the relay method. (One volunteer drives an animal 100 miles or so and then the next volunteer takes off on the next leg of the trip, etc.) Lots of animal rescue groups do that.

Phillip—TWO dogs? Oh my.

Listen to Pablo! You don’t have any gun smileys or I would have one there!

ROFL! J, I haven’t laughed that hard in days. I can just see your face registering the horror.