Family Planning

There are thoughts about a pup.  Sage needs a younger, more energetic dog around.  What will happen when it's just her?  

But then, I think about Murphy.  She requires a lot of attention,  now.  Last night, she couldn't settle down.  She got off my bed, wandered around up stairs, tried to get herself down stairs, I brought her back up stairs, she wandered, stood at the top of the staircase...finally she settled down on her big bed.  Or this morning, wandering from kitchen to living room, underneath my desk, to the back door, to the dining room, bark, bark, bark.  I hand feed her breakfast, make toast, call her name.  I can not imagine giving Murphy the attention she deserves and the time a puppy requires.  Not now.  It would mean short changing Murphy.  And the pup.

Sage has settled into Murphy's rhythms.  She spends the early morning with me, on our run, eats her breakfast, and finds time to "home school" in bed for much of the day.  The pace suits her.  I doubt a pup would distract her, but it would change the dynamic in a way that might not be good for any of us.

Someday I will bring another lab into the house.  But now, Murphy deserves my time, my love, my patience.  As she watches me dote on Murph, Sage needs to know she is valued and important.  

Family planning.

Murphy's day.