So much for that

Well sadly Mackie is no longer with our family. I got a call from Spokanimal on Saturday morning to say that one of his litter mates had shown signs of ringworm and did we have small children because it is very contagious. Well yes indeed we do have small children, so I was asking about treatment and such and then on a whim , just because this person on the phone actually seemed nice and knowledgeable unlike everyone I had talked to at the shelter the day before I asked about him being called a Dachshund.

"Well..." she says...

and I say " you know we were looking at photos and he really seems to look like a pitbull puppy

" Ahem.. " she says " well actually his mother is a pitbull."

" oh really?, well why did his papers say that he was a Dachshund?"

"well we think that his father might have been a Dachshund"

"Oh you think so, is that enough reason to put it on his papers as his only breed?"

"well..."

So long story short we took Mackie back in on Saturday and it was the hardest thing I have ever done. Listening to Abigail sobbing and watching her completely melt onto the floor was heartwrenching and I don't understand why it even had to happen. I asked three people at Spokanimal on Friday about the origins of that dog and they all said they only knew he was a Dachshund... have you seen the photos?

NOT a Dachshund. I mean really. So they did take him back and give us a full refund which was nice I suppose but not really a cure for the heartache of welcoming a new member and then losing him so quickly. Why could we not have a pitbull? well it would never sit easy with me or Seth, I know that many people have them as pets and they are perfectly great and wonderful. I know that if a child is raised with the dog the chances of them ever attacking are slim... but it can still happen. And what about our friend's children who come to play at our house frequently, what do you say to a longtime friend when their child is mauled at your house.. "oops, my bad."

Basically we were not prepared to deal with this breed of dog and we knew that when we went into the shelter, however we couldn't help being lied to. Are we that naive to believe a person who works with dogs everyday when they tell us the kind of breed? I am inclined to believe in the honesty and goodness in all people first and foremost and so this whole thing really chafes, I mean we were lied to. They knew that the breed was pitbull, the dogs had been brought into the shelter before they were weaned and had to be fostered with the mother until they were ready. Any person at any time during our visit could have looked at the computer and told us this information. But instead they all just pointed to the kennel sheet and said Dachshund, no other information known.

And why is this a policy at a city shelter? To dupe unsuspecting families into adopting potentially dangerous animals just to alleviate population issues at the society? When I asked why the papers said Dachshund and not Pitbull the lady told me that it wasn't her idea, and that's all she could say.

So buyer beware, go in with a dog breed diagram if you have to and if you really really don't want a certain breed of dog: look elsewhere.

I guess the good news is that there is a cute little pomeranian Cocker spaniel cross up on Colville we are looking at getting. So we'll see.