I couldn't very well tell Daniel no when he came to me a month Joy's death and asked if he could have his own dog. So we have a new puppy. Those few days with Joy taught him how much fun having a dog of your own can be and he discovered that he really liked caring for her. A breeder who'd heard about Joy through the church grapevine had already offered us one of her Daschshund puppies for free--whenever we were ready. I showed Daniel all the stats on Dachshunds (they aren't dogs for the faint of heart, small or not). This is the first time we've added a dog to the house that didn't come to us because no one else wanted it. It's a novel experience.
"Ruby", the new puppy, is tons of fun and Daniel is doing a great job with her. I'd forgotten about how much energy puppies have and her teeth are deadly weapons! I don't think there's enough chew toys in the world.
I'll post pictures soon, but that's not what I want to talk about tonight . . .
Training and living with a puppy is always an adventure in responsibility and accountability. I'm somewhat amused at how our basic human nature surfaces when faced with poop detail. No one "sees" the puppy's accident, or it "wasn't their turn" or "it's not their dog and why should they . . ." In the end everybody pays their dues, but no one approaches it without protesting.
Our newest bout with this brings to mind a book that was passed around at a meeting a few months ago entitled "The Dog Poop Inititative". I really wish I had come up with this idea, but someone else beat me to it.
It's about recognizing problems, owning up to them and taking responsibility for them rather than pretending they don't exist or assuming they are someone else's. It's a funny take on our tendency to go to great lengths to avoid something messy or difficult rather than do the easiest, most obvious thing because we might get our hands dirty.
I'd love to send this book to our government. Meanwhile, when I'm flush again, I'm going to order it to pass around the boardroom table.
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