How much is that doggy in the window?

When we got home from our adoption trip to China we got some really sad news. The kind that you just can't seem to get out of your mind or shake. Our kennel has gone out of business.

You see, we've had our dog, Baxter, going on 7 years. And in all honesty, he's a real pain in the rear. (That's putting it mildly.) Baxter *might* be mentally disturbed and if you've ever met our dog, you know I do not exaggerate on this one. So we've pretty much burned most of our dog watching bridges over the years. And with the cost of kenneling a dog (and as often as we're out of town... and read we've burned ALL Baxter bridges, including family bridges... he's no longer invited to our families' homes and we don't blame them one bit) it's hard to find a reliable kennel that we can also afford.
We don't need a pet resort, we don't need a place where Baxter can watch movies all day (I kid you not, one place I called assured me there is a tv on in his room 24/7) shoot, he doesn't even need a blanket or a toy. Throw some kibble his way and a bowl of water and he'll be great for 2 nights. (Calm down, don't call PETA on me, I'm just saying poor Baxter has his rightful place on the totem pole 3 kids and 7 years later.)

So, after much research and lots of calls, we decided on a kennel that is about 25 min. from our house (our old kennel was about 12 min. door to door. *sigh* *tear*) but is right off the highway that we take to visit my parents and is right on the way. AND they also have Sunday pick up. A huge perk that many other places don't have. We thought we'd give it a whirl.

When we dropped him off Friday morning on our way to my parent's we had to do all the necessary paperwork for a new client. Steve volunteered. He was in there a long time. Never a good sign! Well, turns out this place is also a vet and they want all dogs to have a certain vaccine every 6 months (our old kennel accepted every 12 mo.) Don't ya know Baxter missed it by 1 month. Luckily, since this place is also a vet they can do the shot ($27), but not without an overall exam (for an additional $40) Of course during the exam they found he has an ear infection (to do further tests its another $30 and then the treatment is $42) "Do we have your permission to treat Baxter?" What the heck am I suppose to say???

"No thanks, just throw some kibble his way and we'll see you Sunday afternoon?" Of course we have to have the ear medication. So now our nice affordable kennel stay for Baxter has turned into a $200 expense for our 1 night trip. Gulp.

So as we were in a our mad dash out the door for church this morning we stumbled upon these photo ops. (Apparently, Olivia was missing her doggy and put a replacement in his stead.) Hmmmm.... this dog would certainly eat less than Baxter, he's softer than Baxter and the mess in the backyard? None! Tempting, very tempting. But hang in there another hour, Bax, we're comin' for 'ya. At least I think we are.