Sad...

So, my blog fans, I am afraid that I'm going to have to close one of my very favorite chapters in this blog.

Things have been going so well here in sunny Phoenix: two of my dear friends had incredibly joyful and healthy babies. Sterling closed on a fixer-upper down the street that will be the newest project. And I received an acceptance letter from my first grad school. Wonderful news and great reason for celebration.

However, yesterday afternoon I was tearful for most of the day because of my dog.

Two weeks ago, I was eating breakfast in a restaurant and Odie was tied up around back. When Sterling and I went to pick him up, a very angry young woman told me that my dog bit her and lunged after another staff member. I was, of course, extremely apologetic and gave her all of my information and took a look at the bite. It was really just a nick, but it did break skin. And while I think that she was silly to try to pet a dog that is tied up out back (he was far enough away from everything), I was pretty upset at my dog for doing that.

Yesterday as I lunged to grab in the yard after he stuck his head out of the gate and barked fiercely at passers-by, I became frustrated with him again. I threw him inside and he went straight for the six baby chicks that Randal and I are raising. Then I thought about how hard it was going to be to move with him and how would I find a place that would let him come stay too? I thought about how when I move, I am not worrying about a place that I want or that Sterling would want, but I am worried about a place that Odie would want.

I was pretty upset at this point. So, I spoke a couple of friends who love Odie, who love dogs, and who love me and told them the whole story. Both of them, when I pressed them for their opinions, thought that it was time to find Odie a new home.

I hate writing that because I so love my dog. I love having a dog and I love Odie. If it were just his hyperactivity, I would hike around with him all day long, but I can't seem to get this aggressive streak out of him and I don't see it going away. I guess that I am tired of worrying that a kid will walk too close to my gate all the time.

So, I'm starting to take steps to finding Odie a new home. If any of you hear of something or would like a lovable, but slightly overprotective dog, he's about the cutest one you'll ever find...