Strange Choice

    In our much loved Patrick McManus books, his family names their dog Stranger in hope that it was only passing through. Alas, that was not the case so they shortened his name to Strange, which was a more apt description anyway. According to McManus, Strange was a canine collection of bad habits wrapped in fur.
    Which brings us to our dog, Keely. After our long-term Lab, Garth, died we wanted to get another dog. Keely, who was being "rehomed" by my son's girlfriend, met our two criteria of not shedding and being free. Keely does not have a lot of bad habits, but makes the most of the ones he has, the worst of which is passive-aggressive pooping. Despite numerous potty breaks, we could not leave Keely alone in the house without worrying that he would leave a little surprise for us. Since we kenneled him when we went out, he began to save those surprises for when we were sleeping. Eventually Reed decided not to prolong the anticipation and began a morning poop patrol. If my morning wake up call was the sound of a dog in distress, I knew what had happened.
     The week I began praying about taking Keely to the pound, he pooped in the house three times. I thought we had our answer. Unfortunately, there have been no answered prayer incidents for weeks now and we are feeling more and more guilty about the impending "pounding". Keely seems to sense this and is being even more needy and pathetic than usual.  To be fair I should balance Keely's faults with some of his good traits. His poop is hard. That makes it much easier to clean up but no less unwelcome. What else? Oh yeah, he doesn't shed and he was free. He is also quiet. He is so quiet, he has more in common with a couch pillow than a canine. He does not play. He goes out in the yard as infrequently, and briefly, as possible. His only physical activity is the happy dance he does before his twice daily feeding. We were hoping these months of having Tracy's exuberant Odin around would help Keely become more dog like, but it has not worked. And now that Odin has a new companion to play with, we no longer need Keely around to keep Odin company.
      Reed and I are leaving for a short vacation and one way or another need to make arrangements for Keely. So now we have to make the "strange choice", deciding once and for all if this dog is only passing through or make a long term commitment to our canine curmudgeon. Though he acts like a stodgy old man, Keely is only three, and at 20 pounds, should have a lot of dog years left to go. Go being the key word.