Dog Days of Summer

Yes, it is quite hot outside. But that isn't what this is about. It's about Meg:


Amy and I have wanted a dog for quite a while. We both grew up with them and we think they would be a good first step towards parenthood (after the potted plants we also have). We've been talking to breeders and rescue groups for a while. Our search led us to Meg after a weekend trip to a Maryland corgi breeder outside of DC. Meg is at our place for a trial stay to see how she acclimates to our household.

Meg is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi. Corgi's are built like dachshunds. They're short-legged dogs, but not little dogs. She weighs around 30 lbs and can jump onto our bed with relative ease. It's just amazing considering how far the bed is above her head. She's also quick and walks at a faster pace than Amybear does. Her short little legs are just a blur when she does it. She's four years old, housebroken, and crate trained.

She's also very skittish. I don't know all of Meg's story, but she has been either neglected or abused in the past. Probably both. She spent several of her formative years bouncing from home to home. She has a slight limp that shows when she's tired. It's because she was hit by a car. She is very very shy and has spend a lot of her time at our place hiding under the dining room table. But Amy and I are slowly working her out of her shell with snuggling and attention.

Meg is accustomed to a fenced yard. She loves to run. Her favorite thing in the world is playing fetch. I'm not kidding. Meg usually looks like she is afraid of everything, complete with the tail between her legs. But if you take her off her leash and pick up her squeaky fetch ball, it's like she's a different dog. Her ears perk up, a wagging tail emerges from somewhere underneath her, and she starts barking at you to throw the damn ball already.

But the yard is a problem for us. Amybear and I don't have access to a fenced yard or dog park. We have a tennis court at our complex that isn't used much, but the rules say no pets on it. Fortunately I haven't read those rules and Meg still gets a few minutes of that freedom she lives for. Meg just isn't herself on a leash. She needs a yard to really be happy. She needs a yard to be herself. She also seems to need a yard to *ahem* do her doggy business, which she seems incapable of doing (she has probably been trained not to) on a leash.

Which is why we probably won't be keeping her. She really deserves better and it will probably be a while before we can give it to her. It's killing us inside. We don't want to be just another one of her former owners. But we don't have what she needs.