We promised our three-year old that we would get a dog.

He’s not the kind of kid who harps on this dog promise.  He excitedly reminds us that we are going to get a dog sometimes, but he really doesn’t push it.

So now, I’m doing a little bit of dog shopping.

Craigslist is a good source but so far I’ve come up dry.

There are lots of CL ads that say “good with kids”…here’s a picture from one of them…

My thing with a lot of the ads is that I really just don’t know if a pitbull would be the best choice for my family….even if it’s one that a baby could ride around the yard.

Not that I really have anything against pitbulls.  They can be really sweet…compact, muscular, huge powerful jaws.  They are a potentially aggressive and tenacious breed.

Why wouldn’t that be a good fit for a family with little kids and chickens?

Another thing that a large number of the ads say is that the dog that they’re trying to dump on someone else is looking for a “forever friend” to take care of them.

I don’t know that I could put my human friends on the spot and demand that they be a “forever friend” to me.  That’s just too much pressure.

Nobody likes pressure.

One thing that reading all these ads has taught me is that the greatest dogs are the ones that people need to get rid of the most.

I guess that’s what marketing is all about, but dog shopping really gives you a chance to hear some sad stories.

Probably some of the saddest stories are the ones that basically say, “we made a bad choice” and subtly follow that with, “do you want to be a forever friend…(to our bad choice)? ”

I guess that it’s better to try and pawn off an animal than just letting it go in the woods…but what a shame that it doesn’t work out more often for the craigslist folks and their dogs.

I don’t even want to get started on the veiled “small rehoming fee” option (but I guess I will anyway).  Selling your dog might be OK…but it would be nice to just be able to say, “I’m selling this dog I don’t want”.  It would be great to be able to just call it what it is.

I worked for a vet when I was in my late 20’s.  There were so many great dogs that came through that office that needed “forever friends”…I probably would have ended up with fifteen dogs if I’d taken every one that needed a home.

That would have been kind of crazy, though.

You hear a lot about “cat ladies”…you don’t hear as much about “dog men”.

I know that we’ll find a dog one of these days.  I can feel our “forever friend” bounding through the wildflowers, calling to us excitedly as he prepares to join our family for the rest of time.

And if that doesn’t work out, we can always “rehome” him for a small “rehoming fee”.  Maybe we can even make some money on the deal?  You know….just to make sure he’s going to a good home?

Maybe we’ll give one of those pitbulls a shot after all.

What’s the worst that could happen?

( I don’t have permission to use this photo…I don’t know these people…the dog looks nice…the baby is having a blast.  Please don’t sue me.)