Dogging Craigslist

I've been combing craigslist for weeks, looking for a dog.

I didn't want a dog at first. I love dogs, but I have enough on my plate caring for the kiddos, and now the garden and yard, plus chickens and cats... I thought adding a dog would be too much. However, Gabriel started talking me into it, and after a couple of experiences where people came to the door without my having heard them come down the driveway, I started to agree.

Then the racooon incident happened. I think I'll save that for a separate post, but basically, I became immediately convinced that a large dog to chase raccoons away from the chicken house would be a huge blessing. So I've been haunting craigslist. There are hundreds of posts every day in the pet section. From corn snakes to stick bugs, you can find what you're looking for!

Except a big dog. I want a dog, not a puppy--I maintain that I do not have time to train a puppy--and I want a big breed. Gabe wants short hair and prefers male dogs. Needed a dog good with kids and that won't chase the chickens. This pretty much rules out labs, because unless they've been raised with chickens, they do like to chase things that run.

I've answered ads for Great Danes and Mastiffs, I've even answered within hours of the ads being posted, only to find that the dogs are already snapped up. I just found a Great Dane last night, but it's in Prosser. Do I really want to drive all the way to BFE Eastern Washington to pick up a dog? Uhhh... But then this morning there's a Great Dane mix posted, and it turns out I've already emailed with the guy about this dog, a few weeks ago. The dog sounds perfect: raised on a farm, great with kids, mellow. I'm going to talk to the guy this afternoon, we'll see how it goes.