Deuce's next step

On Saturday we took Deuce to the home of the couple who run the Old English Sheepdog Rescue of Michigan, who will foster him at their home until they find a toddler-free family that will be a good fit for him. Sandy and Larry are wonderful, and clearly in love with the breed and have four sheepdogs of their own. The fact that we decided that Deuce will be better off in a new home will probably come as a surprise to some of you, so I thought that the best way to explain how we got to this point would be to share the bulk of the email that I sent to the sheepdog rescue folks:

I am writing to you about my 9-year-old sheepdog, Deuce. We got him as a puppy from a breeder in Kansas, and ever since he has been an integral part of our family life.

He is a really sweet boy who has always dealt with a little bit of anxiety when a member of his flock is on the move (if we're out on the boat and I jump in for a swim, that stresses him out until I'm "safely" back on board). Two years ago a son joined our family. All was well with Deuce's adjustment to the new addition until Nathan started walking. The erratic behavior of a wobbly new walker started to stress out Deuce, but it was manageable for all of us, including him. Now, however, Nathan is running everywhere he goes, in unpredictable directions and using loud and excited exclamations.

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his is sending Deuces anxiety over the edge. He is whining, crying, barking, racing around the house, twirling in circles at the slightest change in movement from any one of us. This often results in Deuce inadvertently knocking Nathan over in his efforts to figure out what is going on and where we are all going. As a result, Deuce spends most of Nathan's waking hours on the other side of the baby gate, where he still whines and cries, but does not run around and cannot knock over the baby. As you can imagine, this increases the safety but does not decrease the stress that any of us are feeling. In the last few months, Deuce has started acting out by urinating in his space (he has a room in the basement with big windows where he hangs out while we are at work or away from the house). This urination occurs no matter how many times we let him out or how short a duration of time we are gone. When we are home all day he does not ask to go out more often than usual, does not have accidents, and makes it all night without needing to relieve himself.

This level of stress that we are all under is affecting our quality of life (people and canine) in a negative way. We are all upset and anxious whenever we are all at home and Nathan is awake. When Nathan is sleeping or not around, Deuce reverts back to his normal self.

Yesterday I took Deuce to the vet to make sure that he didn't have a bladder infection or another medical issue, and had a long conversation with both the vet and the animal behavioral specialist. He got clear marks as a very healthy boy, but both healthcare providers felt that Deuce's anxiety around toddlers is not going to get better, and if the situation isn't remedied, will only get worse. The last thing we want is for him to become more miserable.

After much soul-searching, conversation, and research, taking into account the fact that we are expecting another baby in the fall (so the toddler phase will be ongoing for a number of years), and seeking out professional opinion, we have decided that the best thing for Deuce is to find him another home that does not have young children. It breaks our heart to do this, but we really feel that it is what is best for him.

Sandy responded almost immediately, and after much communication back and forth, we settled on this Saturday as the day that worked best for all of us to bring him. So my parents came down to spend the day with Nathan, and Todd, Deuce and I headed over to Plymouth. Sandy and Larry spent quite awhile with us, getting to know Deuce (and us too), and introducing him one by one to their four sheepdogs to see how he did. Eventually we went out to the large fenced-in portion with two of the other dogs so they could all run around. We took some pictures and video, both for our memories and to show Nathan Deuce's new sheepdog friends.

There were many tears shed as we left Sandy and Larry's house, and then again yesterday evening when we realized that Deuce was really gone. The house seems kind of empty. But also much calmer. We'll always miss our goofy sheepie, but really feel that he is going to have a much happier quality of life.

We have since received two updates from Sandy that Deuce is fitting right in--getting along with all four of the other sheepdogs, and helping to supervise their spring yardwork.