C’mon, Flash!

I’ve added a new member to my family: my basset hound puppy named Flash!

Unless you know me personally, you probably don’t know about my recent history with dogs. I love them – absolutely love dogs – but I’ve not had an easy way to go. Let’s go on an abbreviated trip down memory lane.

Buddy

When I was still married, we had a wonderful rescued golden retriever, who was, honestly, making it hard for me to consider divorce even in the toughest parts of my marriage. In a best-case divorce scenario, you can co-parent a child; you can make sure you have time to pour into that child, to teach and lead them, and to love them unconditionally. When you divorce with a pet, the dog goes with their original owner, and, unfortunately, my ex-husband was the one to adopt Buddy officially. You can’t co-parent or make a custody agreement for a golden retriever, y’all.

Buddy was the best, and I knew as I seriously considered divorce, that I was not just giving up a marriage I had been determined to make happen, a house I owned and wanted to raise my children in, the potential for more than one child, or a traditional two-parent home for my son, I was also going to be giving up my sweet dog.

The day before I ended up leaving my husband, Buddy had to go to the vet, and they found a large mass in his throat and neck, which ended up being from lymphoma. They needed to put Buddy down because he had lymphoma and it was really pretty rough. We decided, tearfully, to take their recommendation.

My then-husband was with Buddy at the vet. I was, unknown to everyone but my mother, at my childhood home in my childhood bedroom. I had taken a personal day off of work to pray about the state of my marriage and of myself as a wife and mother. I was at my wit’s end with my circumstance, and I was hurting really badly. I was praying over and over and over again in my empty childhood home, and that’s when I got the call that they needed to put Buddy to rest. I was a complete mess – but I also had a very clear realization that everything was going to come together to allow me to make the decision that was ultimately best for me and my son.

Eleanor

Around Christmastime of 2019, about 5 months after the divorce was final and my son and I were living in our rental, I started to get really lonely on the nights he spent with his father.

I had missed Buddy so much, and had still been accustomed to a dog when I was living with my parents during the 11-month process of my divorce, so I knew that some canine companionship could be helpful.

I started looking at dogs in the East Tennessee shelters. I found a few I was interested in at a really nice shelter in Knoxville. I met Eleanor, about an 8-10 month old dog that likely had some cattle dog in her. She was really shy and reserved, and the shelter said she had been bitten by another dog, so she likely wouldn’t be comfortable with other dogs, but had been good with children and adults in their experience. She was a sweet girl and took to me right away in the visit room. She came home that evening with me.

At first, she and my little one got along really well. She obviously loved him and he was over the moon for “Ellie dog.”

However, after the first two-ish weeks, she started to seem really anxious with his running about. She actually growled at him a few times for running near her, and I could tell his energy level was causing her severe stress and discomfort. I made a REALLY hard decision for her and for my son – that I would have to surrender her back to the shelter for a family with older children or no children. I was terrified that her anxiety and discomfort would lead to an altercation and could hurt my son. I didn’t want her to live in an environment that triggered her, for my son to be potentially hurt, or for me to be stressed about “what if” constantly.

It was so difficult to come to that decision. Jake, my boyfriend, was with me when I decided, and he dealt with a lot of my tears and feelings of guilt. I wasn’t able to take her back myself – I had my son and was afraid to have them in a small enclosed space together on the drive there. Jake made accommodations to take her back for me – which was challenging since they usually only allow the adopter to surrender back – but eventually they agreed with my license, a letter with my signature, and a lot of conversation and explanation.

The good news is that I saw a picture of Eleanor in the shelters post featuring one of their foster families. It looks like she was being trained to be more comfortable around other animals and people, so I am extremely glad to see that the effort was taken to make her available to the right future family.

I was – and still am – heartbroken at the loss of her for my family. She was just a a nervous, scared dog, and wasn’t violent, but I am relieved to know how well that shelter took my feedback into account and said they would use it to train her and to get her into the right home.

When I posted on my private social media about the heartbreak of having to take her back to the shelter, my aunt said something that really comforted me: “Momma knows best!” And the realization that it was obvious that I was putting my son’s needs above my own heartache was so reassuring to me. That simple comment helped me remember that my priorities were in order, even if it was difficult to come to terms with the situation.

When I told my landlord and my parents about the situation, both parties suggested that I get a puppy, which I would train myself and would grow up with my kiddo and be used to his energy level. My landlord offered to hold my pet deposit to see if I found a puppy that was a good fit in the coming months, which I appreciate so much.

Fast forward 6-7 months, and I found my puppy.

Flash

It was a couple Friday nights ago, and my son was spending the weekend with his father. My boyfriend was coming over to go to a family game night with me, my parents, and my sister and brother-in-law, but Jake works a lot later than I do, so I was dressed and ready and waiting for him to arrive. I was just netflixing and social-media scrolling when I saw my local animal shelter had a basset hound puppy!

I had always wanted a basset hound – even when I was a kid. And this dog was just 3 months old. I immediately messaged the shelter on Facebook and asked if he was still available; he was, and I could make an appointment to meet him the next day!

I immediately told my family and Jake that I was considering adopting him – and they were all so supportive! Well, Jake was admittedly concerned that it might lead to another Eleanor situation, but we talked and said that we could just meet Flash and see his temperament and learn more about him before making any decisions.

That Saturday, Jake went with me. Flash was so calm in the shelter, even with tons of other dogs barking and yapping – and he rolled over as I started petting him. We read more about him on his kennel tag, and I was in love. Jake could tell, too – he said “you’re getting this dog, aren’t you?”

I put a deposit on him and they planned to neuter and chip him before I could retrieve him the next weekend.

My parents helped us surprise my toddler – who was over the moon with his new best friend. He adores Flash – I keep hearing “c’mon, Flash! Let’s go, Flash!” And the sweet sound of the little hound scampering along around the house behind him.

So now I’m potty training two – my toddler son and my hound pup!

We think Flash might have a little beagle in him – just from the size of his ears and the features in his face, although he absolutely has the traditional basset hound coat, legs, and eyes.

Here are some precious pictures of this sweet addition to my family!