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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Debra, the first thing that I thought after reading your
post is that Marcie is still a puppy, and all puppies are very, very active -- they’re
all wild things at that age. It also sounds like she’s really well
behaved for a youngster, which makes me think that she will be a very good dog
as an adult. Is there a dog park in your area where you could take
her once in a while so that she could run and play with other dogs? Is
there an affordable doggie day care close that you could take her to one day a
week? Another idea, how about offering to doggie-sit a friend’s or
neighbor’s dog one day a week while the owner-slave is at work? <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The thing that concerns me about giving her up to a family
with kids is that if the kids are like most that I know, they will love the dog
but not spend much time playing with her. In my neighborhood there are
plenty of families with kids and dogs, and in most cases the dogs are left home
alone all day while everyone is at work and school, and then the dogs are out
in the back yard by themselves most evenings, too. Very few of the neighborhood
dogs ever get walked, and almost none of the neighborhood kids go outside, let
alone go out and play with the dog. Marcie is used to being walked every
day and having a lot of attention, would she actually get more attention in a
family setting? I doubt it. When you think about work and school
and soccer practice and t-ball and all the activities that kids participate in
today, there’s very little time left to spend with the dog. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>It sounds like you love her, spend a lot of time with her
and do a lot for her, and it doesn’t sound like she’s unhappy, just
full of puppy energy. It’s your decision of course, but if you re-home
her she could easily end up in a family situation where she spends most days
home alone, and actually gets a lot less attention and love than she gets now
from you. Just my two cents.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=JanieHmkBold><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:JanieHmkBold'>Anita Woodrum</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><a href="mailto:a.woodrum@sbcglobal.net">a.woodrum@sbcglobal.net</a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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