Paxton

A few have noticed and commented about the fact that they no longer see Paxton (Big Dog) on my blog.  So, I figure I can only avoid the subject for so long.  The truth is...we gave him away.  Before you judge us, hear me out first.

We were fine with having two dogs pre baby and we were totally cool with Paxton pre baby but when Miss Peach came along things changed a lot and REALLY fast!

#1  When Georgia would cry, Paxton would cry.  Really, he would.  I usually couldn't find him when she was crying.  Typically he would be in one of the guest bedrooms, nose to the wall, shivering and crying.  It was really sad!

#2  He is a big dog with a lot of energy.  Energy that I no longer have because it goes to Georgia 24/7.  I realized I would get mad at him but it was my fault.  I didn't play with him anymore and he had nobody and no where (our back yard is tiny) to let this energy out.

#3  Again, he is big.  I can't handle him by myself if he does something dumb.  Case in point.  He dug a HUGE hole in the back yard.  Then, the neighbor watered his yard and the hole filled with water.  Then, he rolled in the mud and of course made a huge mess.  G was just a few weeks old and I had to find the time in my day to bathe a HUGE dog covered in mud...and I got bit by ants in the process.

#4  He sheds like crazy!  That has always bothered me about him.  One time I was walking around the house with no shoes on and I felt something stab me in the foot...like a small needle and I looked at my foot and it was a Paxton hair sticking through my skin.  All of that to say, once G was born and I began to find his hair in her diapers, her neck rolls, and her eye and I knew it couldn't keep getting on her because sooner or later it would stab her like it did me and it would take FOREVER to find a tiny hair poking a baby.

#5  Many might say, why don't you just leave him outside more?  Well, here is why.  (If the whole mud fiasco mentioned above isn't enough)  He eats his own poop and Perry's poop ALL THE TIME.  EVERYDAY.  EVERY TIME HE WOULD GO OUTSIDE.  Do you know what dog burps smell like after they eat poop?  (He would stink up our entire house!)  Do you know what it's like to clean up dog poop puke when you have a two week old baby?  Not fun people...or sanitary in the slightest!  This wasn't as hard to take care of pre baby.  We would just shovel the poop and it would be gone...well, then once G was born it was too hard to go out with the dogs every time and do that.  We were to busy.

#6  He was the sweetest, kindest, most gentle dog I've ever been around with the prettiest eyes but MAN was he dumb.  (Our other dog is a rescue as well but he is VERY smart...too smart for his own good sometimes!  You just never really know what you're getting.)  I know that sounds terrible to say because he really did mean well and he wanted to please us but he was just down right dumb.  He was a stray we got from a shelter so that explains it but sometimes telling him, "no" just took forever to get through to him...hence the hole in our leather sofa from his toe nails :(

Happy Ending:  Jonathan found him a new home (that he personally went to and scoped out first) on 2 fenced acres, with a husky to play with, and he now belongs to a 10 year old boy who's first dog had just died.  It's perfect for him.  Jonathan took him over there for a test run before he officially left us and he loved it so I feel really good about our decision.