Jaci Dawn

A long and convoluted search for a pet of my own is drawing near to a close. Ever since Murphy came into our lives, my pets have gone out of our lives. I haven’t replaced the cat (which was actually Chrystal’s cat) because Murphy is not good with cats. He thinks cats are to be chased. I haven’t replaced the parakeets because I really can’t cuddle with a parakeet.

But I’ve been very lonely, especially since the grandsons moved back out. While they were here, they filled in for a pet. But now they’re gone and I have a hole in my life.

The logical fill is another dog. And that launched a weeks-long search of the greater Portland metro area for the right dog. There were several close calls, but no dog.

I was disheartened to find that in order to adopt a dog these days you have to fill out an application, have a vet who will vouch for you, and pay upwards of $200 for a mixed-breed dog that wasn’t worth fifty bucks at birth. If I wanted to spend hundreds of bucks, I’d look for a purebred.

But I opted to look for a rescue dog. PetFinder, Dog rescue, newspaper ads and the county pound. False starts, heart ache, internal drama and a somewhat dubious husband: “why do we need another dog? Where will it sleep? Where will it stay when you’re at work?”

I finally found a dog but I might need my head examined.

He’s another birddog and a purebred to boot. But it was pretty much love when I saw his photo on the dog pound’s site.

Then I met him in person. He was covered in his own urine and was nervously pacing, but he paused to tell me his life story in a series of rawr-rawr-rawrs. We even took Murphy to the pound to meet him and they completely ignored each other.

No, that’s good: two male dogs of equal height sniffed noses and butts and then proceeded to ignore each other. No posturing or growling to establish dominance, just “Hey.”

The English Setter is a year younger than Murphy and wanted to play a little. The only time Murphy growled was when the Setter got a bit rambunctious and it was only a short, “stop!” growl. So the Setter will be coming home to live with us as soon as he is neutered this week.

But he’s a birddog. All we’ve owned for the past 30 years have been birddogs. One mutt and two purebreds (soon to be three purebreds). The only thing the Setter lacks is papers because whoever lost him neglected to find him and they have his papers.

If you’ve never owned a birddog, let me tell you a little about them:

They are “hyper.” I mean really, really, really hyper. Some more than others and the English Setter is on the more than others half of that equation. They tend to be quite busy.

They are fiercely loyal but rarely mean.

Show dogs can be really stupid. Field dogs can be really stubborn. We’ve owned one of each. Which one the Setter is remains to be seen.

We will find out later this week.

Oh – I need a name for the new dog. Someone has already suggested Lokai (Low-ki) for the Star Trek “look alike” but I’m not sure yet. The pound has been calling him “Ollie” but he doesn’t respond to that name at all.

Ideas anyone?