Pretty Flowers and Joining the Mainstream

Well shit. That post was really sad. So I promise, the next few posts will be nothing but pretty flowers, scenic vistas, and happy, playing puppies. 

This post will be a bit philosophical. I miss Marshal and I'm sad about what happened, but I'm not haunted by it the way I thought I would be. 

Every time I go over the events of the past few months, I see that I did do everything possible. 

If I could have had a few months with Marshal, doing TTouch and taking him to reactive dog and confidence building classes,  I think he could have been a good, reliable dog. But for whatever reason something happened in his relations with Fozzie and it was no longer safe to have him.

As far back as I can remember I have always been what you might call a deep ecologist. I believe that the earth and its creatures have intrinsic rights to exist and pursue well-being.









I still am that way, and I think the death penalty is no more appropriate for animals than it is for humans. 



I'd no more choose to get rid of a problem dog that way than I would to relieve myself of the burden of a troublesome relative by killing them. 











But I know now that there are limits. 

It is actually kind of a relief to have my thinking, at least in one department, closer to the culturally accepted norm. 

It's a lot of pressure to be so far outside the mainstream! 













Now I can just do completely normal things like daydream about Fozzie and Dahlia every moment I am away from them, 

spend hours massaging their paws, plan every vacation around their favorite activities, take slow-motion videos of them tongue kissing with Florian, and shop online for better-tasting dog toothpaste so they can improve their breath. 

Feels great to be normal!