Buckley Has Left the Building!

Our lives as dog owners has officially come to a close-HALLELUJAH!!...ahem, OK now that I have that off my chest here is the story. The painstaking responsibility of having not only a dog but a puppy became more than I could handle, physically & emotionally, right about the time when Matt left for his 6 week training in TX. (If you need more explanation as to why read my post titled "Animal Cruelty")

The kids and I were planning on a two week trip to UT for the last part of Matt's trip & I was having anxiety attacks over what was going to happen with Buckley. I knew we couldn't leave him home & I had pretty much decided that I was going to have to struggle through the drive out, the visit, & then the drive home again with him. Three days before we were supposed to leave I got up the courage to ask a friend if they would take him for us while we were gone. She had no problem with the idea & it was a huge weight off my shoulders! (we even had Buckley "fixed" the morning that we left & my saint of a friend helped him through the recovery-can you believe it!!)

The two weeks living life dog free was amazing & when Matt came to join us for the last half of our visit we decided that we would find a new home for Buckley as soon as we got back. I had talked about it with the kids several times before & they were not ready to give their pet away so easily. (Dang) One of the main reasons we were getting rid of Buckley is so that my parents would still be able to come and visit. My Mom is allergic to Buckley & had a horrible time with her asthma when they were out visiting for New Years.

During our visit in UT my Mom and I were talking about the challenges of having a puppy. (This was before Matt had gotten back & we weren't sure whether to get rid of him or not-horrible I know!) Trinity happened to be in the room & overheard the mention of finding Buckley a new home. She immediately informed us that we were NOT giving Buckley away! My Mom told her that she wouldn't be able to come and visit us anymore if we kept Buckley & asked we could give him away so she could come again & Trin instantly replied-NO we are KEEPING him! My Mom said something like, "Oh, well that makes me feel sad, do you think you could consider giving him away for me?" Trinity thought for a few seconds & then said. "OK, we will keep Buckley for 5 more weeks!" I sat laughing quietly at her decision...hehehe

When we got back Matt & I both "advertised" that we needed to find Buckley a new home & one of Matt's good friends was interested right away. He has actually become a good family friend & the kids love it when he comes over to visit. That Saturday he came over to spend some time with us & talk about it. Buckley had met him once before & took to him right away. After the kids were all asleep we asked him what he thought & he was really excited to have Buckley, but wanted to wait until his next day off to take him home so that Buckley wouldn't have to spend the day alone in his new home. Right then I knew we were giving him to the right person!

We told the kids the next day that Dad's friend was going to come and get Buckley in a few days & unfortunately they were still pretty upset at the idea. I tried to change the subject real quick & bring it up again later. Then I had an idea that I hoped would make Buckley's leaving a little easier.

I told the girls that we would get another dog someday (I was very careful in my wording) and got on the Internet to show them pictures of all the different dogs we could choose from. Having a dog that my Mom, Brinley, Graden, & I wouldn't be allergic to won't be as hard as I thought! They each fell in love with the idea of a new dog & asked if we could get a girl next time & name her Princess Fionna. I also told them that Buckley would tell me what he wanted to get them as a going away gift & I would go shopping for him. That is what sealed the deal!!

A couple of days later Matt's friend came back to pick Buckely up & the girls helped me get all of Buckley's things together. They each said goodbye & were completely tear free as they waited patiently to see what gifts Buckely had chosen for them.

That night Matt showed me this picture that his friend had posted on Face Book with the following caption: "This is my buddy Buckley that I adopted from my friend. 1st day: nice nap on my chest & then played with his toy. Life is better with a dog!" It was the perfect fit & I couldn't have asked for a better home for Buckley! The kids didn't even ask about Buckely until almost two weeks later & are happy knowing that we can still visit Buckley if we want to. WHEW! Lesson learned: Don't get suckered into the idea of having a puppy so easily!