15. When you are told you can’t have it all

Tonight, a lady sat on our couch, looked me in the eyes, and told me that if I chose to surrender my dog to her rescue that they would find him a good home. Wait what!? How did we get here?

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmHkWnPXWuU%5D

A few weeks ago, Patrick (our Poodle) nipped M in the cheek after M tried to kiss Patrick in the face (after being told not to many times). We did what we were supposed to do and called our licensing worker and reported it. She told us that we needed to have an Animal Behaviorists come out and do an assessment.

Fast forward to today. The lady came out, completed her assessment, everything was going well. We were sitting on the couch talking about next steps when V tottered over to hand me a toy. Patrick licked his lips and the Behaviorist got very concerned. She talked about the fact that Patrick would never be safe with little kids, that the only way to keep V safe is to get rid of Patrick or erect a glass door to keep them apart, and that if I wanted to surrender Patrick to her rescue that they would do a great job of finding him a home where there are no children.

I broke down. I started crying. She was talking about the fact that either Patrick or V  had to go. We couldn’t keep both in our home. How do I choose? The dog that I love and that has been with me through the best of the past few years and the has seen some of the worst parts of my life… or a helpless child that we have taken in to provide safe haven and love. Those can’t possibly be our only options.

The lady left and I cried for a bit, brought myself back to together (after a few hugs from Alex) and looked at the hallway. What if we put baby gates on both sides of the hallway? Surely that is OK. Then, there is no way for Patrick and V to come into contact. They will be at least 6 feet away from each other. I set it up and took pictures and sent them to the Behaviorists. And now we wait. Please think happy thoughts that she will agree that this is a viable solution to our problem. I can’t possibly imagine what I will have to do if I am made to choose.