Bad Dog, Good Boy

So here are a couple of photos I promised of Lucy.

She really is a very pretty dog. However, I was not thinking to much about how pretty she was when we came home yesterday from church to THIS:
Let's just say Lucy is an active dog. She jumps the fence, so last week for church, we put her on a chain in the backyard. When we got home, she had gathered up all the patio furniture into a pile & with her chain all around it, left herself about a foot of movement. She was, as a result, stuck sitting on top of the pile, unable to move, until we got home. Well, we didn't want that to happen again, so we borrowed a large dog crate from a friend. Friday night, we went bowling. We left her with a dog bone & a blanket & a bowl of water. We came home to her having chewed up the bottom plastic pan in the crate. Not a huge deal, except that we'll have to replace it ($50!). Fast forward to Sunday morning. Back into the crate she went, but without the bottom plastic pan. Well, apparently, she was able to MOVE the crate now. It is a 40-something pound crate and she was INSIDE. But, she got it moved about a foot over and ran it into the above pictured red chair. Then she proceeded to rip the stuffing out of it. This dog has now racked up quite a little tab of destruction. And, we've had her a week. I cannot even tell you how sick I was to look at that chair. Yes, it's only "things", but honestly, she hasn't been in our family long enough for me to have a love that overlooks.

So, she went outside for a while so I could cool off & I took a nap. The kids were doing quiet time in their rooms. When they came out, Caleb brought me this note.
I couldn't help it. I burst into tears. Call it pregnancy hormones if you'd like, but I started sobbing. You have to understand something. Caleb has been saving up for months for a rifle. He's picked out the precise one he wants and has saved every penny toward it ever since. And here he is, saying he'll give it all up to buy me a new chair. He has such a beautiful heart. He loves Lucy, doesn't want to lose her, loves me and wants me to be happy, and is willing to sacrifice his own desires to try to make everything right. It was enough to fill my heart right up to overflowing.

We still don't know what to do about Lucy. We obviously have to find a new set-up. She can't be left outside, really, because she has also now started to dig in the grass. So, chained up, she'll dig & try to make herself as uncomfortable as possible in all manner of entanglement. Unchained, she'll jump the fence and best case scenario, could get us a fine. Worst case? Meet up with a coyote or a car fender. In the crate, well, we've seen the error of those ways. And, yes, we can take her with sometimes, but those places where she can't come in? 115 degrees will be here soon. And that is OUTSIDE of the car. Obviously, we can't leave her in the car. So, what do we do with her? For now, I guess I'm housebound. I know she'll be fine on the farm, but that's still about 5 months away. That's a long time being unable to leave the house.

At least she's stopped peeing in the house.