Empty nest, puppy lust

When I was a younger woman I will admit I had baby lust. Still eager to cuddle babies, I look forward to being a grandmother (note to offspring: only when the right time comes). Meanwhile, I was hoping Santa Claus would bring me a dog for Christmas. I didn't write him a letter or sit on his knee at the mall, but I did drop lots of hints around the house over the last year.

Since we lost our beloved mutt Whisper and our three kids essentially left the nest, I've been thinking about a new pet. Family reunites at Christmas and holidays, but then the nest feels empty. Why not a dog in our nest? We had one before, after all.

We inherited our old dog Whisper when economically challenged friends moved to the greener pastures of British Columbia. They had rescued him from a shelter originally and then we rescued him. Eight years later, I liked having a dog around. Since we don't have a local animal shelter open, I started looking on dog shelter websites.

Currently, I have four sites bookmarked to check regularly for our next best friend. I've figured out that most SPCA shelters in Nova Scotia are full of cats; the few dogs they shelter are usually German shepherd or Rottweiler mixes.

Not that I'm prejudiced -- some of my best friends can act like attack dogs -- but our next dog has to be hypoallergenic. Whisper was some kind of hairy terrier mixture; he was quiet and didn't provoke allergic reactions. Just tumbleweeds of hair, upstairs and down. So hypoallergenic is a must. Hubby also specifies the next dog not be hyper-jumping-up or rudely yappy.

Searched far afield

A good friend suggested I check the Moncton SPCA website because it is the largest in the region. I'm told that Quebec puppy-mill operators have moved into New Brunswick and that's why there are more dogs available there. I guess they’re all bilingual, too.

In any event, there was one interesting dog on the site for less than a day. His name was James. Somebody grabbed a leash and got him. We need to move to Moncton.

I even went so far as to call up a dog breeder in Hants County. She raises lovely little Havanese dogs, but she didn't anticipate having any puppies to sell for at least a year.

My daughter dragged me into the pet store in New Minas and we both cooed over the puppies behind cages. She has been singing her favourite seasonal ditty, "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas", but I didn't start humming, "How much is that doggy in the window".

I just can't see spending $1,500 to purchase a designer pooch - like a golden doodle - although I suspect that's what U.S. president-elect Barack Obama will be doing in 2009. Perhaps what I need to attempt is what he’s pictured doing on a recent New Yorker cover - interviewing a long line of pooches outside his White House door.

Cats are nice, but dogs are true companions. They, like me, like to go for walks. They hunker down companionably next to my desk. They make the nest feel a little fuller. Santa, are you listening?