Still More Evidence That We Are Not Pet People

Three years ago we got a dog.

Or more like, the dog showed up on our porch and wouldn't leave.

If you need the full version of the story, click here.

The short version is this:

We adopted the dog.

The kids begged and begged to have her.

We decided it would be a good idea for them to have a pet and learn some responsibility.

We fed her every day. 

The kids played with her.  The adults tried.

She tolerated me.  She hated my husband.

The responsibility thing went out of the window.  My husband did everything for her to try to teach her that he was not going to hurt her.

It did not work.

This summer she started acting weird.  She started nipping at my kids and just wasn't acting "normal" (well, for her anyway). 

Taking her to the vet wasn't an option because she wouldn't let any adult close enough to her to actually get her into a vehicle.  We tried a couple of times.  It would have made a very comical video.

She used to allow this.

Not anymore.  She was even strange with the kids. 

We called the vet to ask for some advice.  All things considered -- acting weird, not current on shots, etc., etc. -- they said we were probably going to have to put her down as a safety factor for the kids.  We had a feeling this is what they would say.

This was right before vacation. 

This may be terrible, horrible parenting, but we decided to go ahead and let my FIL put her down while we were gone.  We didn't tell the kids.  We honestly did not even think about letting them tell her "goodbye". 

I may have mentioned once or twice that we are not really "pet people". 

On vacation, we discussed what the best way would be to tell the kids.  After thinking about it, my husband said, "Actually, I want to wait and see how long it takes them to notice that she is gone."

I am sure this advice can not be found in any sane parenting book. 

Here's the deal.

We have been home for a week.

168 hours.

They have not said ONE WORD.

How is it possible that they do not notice that the dog is gone? 

Granted, she didn't live inside or anything, but really?? 

I am in awe of this mystery.  Every day I want to shout out, "have you noticed anything missing around here?!" 

Maybe tomorrow.