What kind of a dog goes best with Pluto? Another greyhound? They make such a pretty silhouette when we foster. but actually adopting another greyhound is out of the question. They are simply too big for our car. We could go with another dog, a smaller one who could fit in with the cats and the master hound. Perhaps a little humane society dog, some kind of undecipherable mix of canine adoration and potential. As long as the dog wasn't 80 pounds then we would be fine.

You see, on Sunday we drove to Milwaukee to participate in the death gasp of a Lutheran Church. Like all passings, this congregation included, the dearly departed had possessions that must be rendered to the living. In this case, Tim's parent's have five small dogs. Each of these dogs must find a home because the parents own living situation is uncertain. I could go on about, how if Tim the Greater had only been a catholic minister then his future would not be uncertain, how the church would have looked after it's own and found him a calling or a job, or at the very least provided a roof over their heads. No, instead, this particular protestant sect decided that after the sale of the church the presiding minster should be left to his own devices. I could go into depth, but I won't because we are discussing dogs.

The dog was disgustingly smelly, impossibly short, and infuriatingly cute Yorkshire Terrier. His ears are huge and his fur was riveted with patches of clumped dandruff. Against our better judgement, we decided to give this train wreck a trial run. We clipped our noses with pins, tossed it in the car with Pluto and drove home. It has since been brushed, bathed, fed and petted. It has met our feline guardians and survived. Thankfully it isn't a barker. He is gentle and so far has fit in quite well with the rest of the "family." Tim put is best when he described him "as a small footprint."

For two weeks, we will try this dog out, or until the end of October when Tim's parent's finally have to vacate the parish. Then he would head off to a Yorkshire Terrier rescue.

It is a very real possibility. I'd be lying if I said cost wasn't a factor in this decision. The dog has a serious skin condition but that could be managed. What has me really worried, is the wheeze. He can't seem to breath through his nose very well, and so he pants. From the little research we performed, breathing problems are not a common Yorkshire problem. His ears are filthy and if he could, he would itch them into next Friday. However that could be remedied by ear drops or wash. We are also fairly certain he is experiencing a Tracheal Collapse -- which has no cure.

It's the vet bills that scare us. We accepted the cost of Pluto, and I hate to admit it but the cats are a bit behind. Two of the three need teeth cleanings, and they are a tad behind on their shots. This dog would need a check up, and then money to solve whatever ails it. Just getting that checked out is going to cost over a hundred dollars -- a hundred dollars for a "maybe" is a lot of moola in my book. The dog is also older -- about 9 or 10. Health problems are going to come fast and furious each year we have him. Or maybe we need to come to grips with setting a vet limit and anything after that, we just make him comfortable. Already his life has improved just by being with us for twenty four hours. Isn't that what matters the most?