Several weeks ago the Smidt family had to make the agonizing decision to have our dog of 12 years euthanized for health reasons. It was a very sad day. Maggie was a lab/cattle dog mix and lived with us for three years before our son Nick was born. From his birth forward, Nick was her “boy” to be both managed and ignored as she saw fit until the very end.

My husband Jason and I both grew up in more of a rural environment, training dogs and owning various pets. Having to make the decision to have one put down is never easy but over the years and through the loss of several pets, we have become more resigned to the fact that there are going to be times where it is very necessary. Owning a pet is not always fun and games. There are very real responsibilities and choices that come along with it.

As a family, we enjoy having a dog in our lives. With the open hole of Maggie’s loss hanging over us we started looking for a new addition to the family. Last week we came across Baer. Baer is a 10-month-old lab/shepherd mix who can hardly contain himself when it comes to curiosity, mischief and rambunctious behavior. He is also very sweet and loving. He is all puppy and truly perfect for our family. Baer does show signs of real intelligence and is already doing very well with some basic obedience training. One thing we are going to need to work on is the perceived family pecking order. According to Baer it is Colleen, Jason, Baer and then somewhere down the road Nick. Baer accords all sorts of submissive respect to both Jason and me and nearly none to Nick. He treats Nick just like he would one of his littermates were they still around. Nick is a little miffed that here is another dog that tries to both manage and ignore him as it sees fit. Hopefully, with no small amount of work ahead of all of us, Baer can come to grips with his pecking order reduction in rank and be ready to join a local 4-H dog group with Nick sometime in the next year.

As one door closes on Maggie another one opens for Baer. We are looking forward to some great adventures together as a family. We have already seen how he is fitting right in. Baer despises the neighborhood raccoon gang much to our delight. He has also done a very good job of reducing the spider population in the basement. Baer finds them to be funny little moving “toys” to be swatted at and stepped on. Good Baer.