Ugly Dog

Tuesday, a friend and I were talking about her upcoming Pampered Chef show. In the middle of the conversation, she randomly asked “Do you want a Boston Terrier?” Huh? She has two, and I was confused as to why she was parting with one. Turns out a neighbor found one roaming the neighborhood and, assuming it was one of Tiffany's, placed it in her yard. After a week of searching, she gave up hope of finding “Charlotte”'s owner (so called because of her resemblance to a spider).

I never considered Boston's as a pet. In truth, I think they are just plain ugly. But after joking with Terry about it (and discovering that he sort of liked the idea) I began reading online. Apparently, they are really awesome pets. They are consistently listed in the top ten most trainable breeds, as they are highly intelligent. And, according to several sites, they are great with kids.

I had to make a stop at Tiffany's house yesterday to deliver some catalogs. Let me just tell you, other Boston's would look at this dog and think “dang! She's ugly.” Aside from being spindly, small-headed, and oddly colored, she has a snaggle tooth: one little bottom tooth that sticks up over her top lip. Definitely NOT breed standard.

Anyhow, I decided that, despite her hideous appearance, I would borrow her for a couple of hours to see how she did with three small boys.

When I first got home, Xander was the only one awake. Charlotte was very, well, leary of him. If he would walk close to her, she'd walk to the other side of the room. Didn't seem to be a really big deal, though. As soon as the older two woke up, though, it was a different story. I explained to them that she was scared, so they shouldn't really get to close.

They were really good about not encroaching. Quinten did pick her up once. She shook violently. The boys sat on the floor watching her. She shook violently. Xander cried. She shook violently. After about 15 minutes she hid under my desk. She only came out long enough to see if I'd hold her... then back under. She stayed there for 2 hours.

It became clear that she was not the dog for us. Or, rather, we were not the family for her. Sadly, I returned the ugly dog to Tiffany. She would have been a great pet for me, but not a great pet for our boys. And if we're going to pay $25 extra rent a month, we're getting a pet for the whole family.