Decisions....

The summer after Devin and I got married, she was having a hard time adjusting to being home by herself a lot. When the situation was really becoming hard, a gift dropped into our laps. A coworker asked me if I wanted a dog. It seems that the dog was living with a woman who worked constantly and never had time to pay attention to her. After discussing with Devin, we decided to go pick her up and bring her into our family. The day we went to pick her up, I remember her being incredibly excited to see visitors and she seemed very content when we brought her to our home. Throughout the last five years, she has become a large part of our family. She has been a constant companion for both of us when we have dealt with infertility and the struggles of life. She has been a good listener when I don't want to admit I'm talking to myself. She has been a perfect warm blanket for Devin's perpetually cold feet. Never far from either of us, it's hard to imagine what our house will be like without her. I suppose that's why what comes next is so difficult. We both knew that having a baby would inevitably take some of our attention away from her but felt like after only a brief while, she would be worked back into the regular cycles of play and belly rubs. Unfortunately, she's been more left out than I care to admit and I feel terrible. She's taken to spending a lot of time moping and will rarely want to play when I do try to get her excited with her tennis ball. Still, I didn't believe it would be a problem until recently. Zander is becoming mobile and wants nothing more than to play with Lovie. She, on the other hand, is not amused and runs away from him when he follows her around the house. While comical at first, I can tell she has grown tired of the game. It started with a simple growl and today, for the first time since we've had her, she snapped at Zander. No harm was done and she didn't mean to hurt him but the message became clear. Keep this child away from me. I can't begin to describe the range of emotions I feel about this. Obviously, the both of us are devastated. While I don't want to get rid of her I can't, in good conscience, allow her to escalate the behavior with my son. I've spent most of the day considering and researching options that will allow us to keep her. I simply can't think about getting rid of her without being incredibly sad. Some of you may think it's silly to feel this way about an animal but I would contend that she is part of the family. In the five years she has lived with us, she has proven to have a personality, an intellect, and a love for us as well, if that's possible. In many ways, she was like a child to us in the years we were without. So the question becomes, what do we do now? I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow to make sure there's nothing bothering her that could be causing her behavior and hopefully pick their brain about the subject. I'm praying for answers and a plan of action that keeps our family together. I suppose that will have to do for now.