Bye Bye Rover?

Well, one of my most dreaded moments as a mother has come to pass. Actually, it's one of those things even non-parents hate to think about. What the heck to do with the family dog? It's one of these catch twenty-two things, where I am at war with my sensible self and my but-I-love-the-dog self. Ok, the full scoop is that Rover, aka: Katie our 8 year old yellow lab, just bit the baby. Not a massive all out attack on the baby, but a gentle warning gone wrong. The dog was sleeping soundly, the baby crawls too fast for me to get out of my chair without killing myself and there you have it. Said baby crawls on top of said sleeping dog and dog growls a warning with bared teeth. Baby either falls into the teeth or the teeth fall into the baby. I'm not sure. Baby has a very small little ding on her temple from Katie...a very small little ding that is more than likely going to mean the boot for the dog.

DH and I always agreed when we had children, that if the family dog ever bit, intentionally or otherwise, one of the children, that dog would be seeing the better end of a 30-odd-6. We got the dog a few months after our first son was born, and so the children have all grown with her. Up until last year she was the model pet; fun, outgoing, patient. Now, 8 years later she rarely plays with the kids and just wants to lay around in the house all day. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with her except for age, according to the vet.

Well, I'm sure there is going to be something wrong with her now. I can only imagine what DH is going to say when I reluctantly tell him what happened to the baby. Of course I"m upset about what happened, and it could have been much worse. I am thankful it was only a little dog vs baby misunderstanding ( that is what I'm telling myself so I don't really have to believe my beloved pet is a baby biter). However, according to the rules DH and I set 8 years ago, she has crossed THAT line.

DH has already said she's been getting too snippy. He's already threatned to take her for "one last hunt". Even though he loves her dearly, has hunted with her and helped her birth two beautiful litters of puppies, trained her, taken her everywhere and let her lay on his lap like a toy-cup Poodle, I think he might really take her on that hunt after this.

Hmm, I don't know what else to say ( for once)