And Then There Were None.....

Once upon a time....we had pets coming out of our ears.  We had a snake , 2 cats, 2 dogs, and 2 rabbits (NEVER....NEVER get rabbits!).  The kids on our block in Idaho called our house "Noah's Ark" or the "zoo". The rabbits did not make the move with us to Virginia but the other pets did and for 6 years, we've all been one happy family.

And then this past December, we had to say goodbye to Rusty.  This was very difficult for me to do as I loved him so much but it was his time and I was at peace with the decision....and we still had Hilde.  

But today...today we say goodbye to Hilde.  She is perfectly healthy but we can no longer have her in our house and so I have found a nice couple in Williamsburg to adopt her.

A week after joining our family in 2005

Happy times in Idaho

Hilde was 1.5 years old when we adopted her.  Her official papered name is "Tea with Crumpets" and her call name was "Buttercup".  Neither myself or David could tolerate such a name so we named her "Hilde"....after the Wagnerian opera character in the "Ring Cycle" Brunhilda...the woman with the braids and the helmet with the horns.  It was and is a VERY fitting name for our corgi.  

She is practically of royal lineage.  Her grandfather was the 1st best corgi in the country at one point and her father was the 3rd best corgi in the country at one point.  She is, in my opinion, the prettiest tri-colored Corgi I've ever seen.  I love her sweet face and her velvet soft ears.

She has loved playing fetch (she was always better than Rusty) and chasing squirrels and playing Cat Fetch and going on walks and chasing after the water in the hose and playing in the snow.  She has also loved playing with our next door neighbor's corgi, Lucy.

Hilde and Lucy....2 peas in a pod

She LOVES the snow

Playing fetch in the snow is the best

Jumping high for daddy

Never far from her kong ball

Sadly....the one thing she does not love....is Jeffery.  Since he has joined the family, she has been aloof to him and I quietly wondered what would happen once he became mobile.  Rusty used to lick his feet and at one point, rested his giant head on the swing while Jeffery was in there .  But Hilde.....she gives Jeffery a WIDE berth and our attempts to bring the two together have resulted in her crying and wanting out of there as quickly as possible.

And then....about a month ago....she snapped at him.  He was crawling and as he is absolutely fascinated by her, approached her and she snapped at him.  A day later, she snapped at him again.  I spoke to dog trainers and our vet and friends who are very knowledgeable about dogs and I tried to work with her....but to no avail.  If Jeffery even came within 8 feet of her, she was baring her teeth and giving a low and threatening growl.  NOT GOOD!  She made the decision for me when she snapped at him again.  She wasn't happy....Jeffery was at risk....and my peace of mind was shot.  Uncle Dave Franek (one of her biggest fans) even gave her a stern talking to when he was here last week but nothing worked.  I created a profile for her on a Corgi Rescue site and within a day...had a response from someone interested.

We all traveled down to Williamsburg this past Saturday to meet these people and I felt good about things and our decision but I was going to give it a little time.  However, from the confines of her crate, she snapped at him again that night and that was the last straw.  I e-mailed the people almost immediately and I am taking her down to them this afternoon.  I feel that she is a ticking time-bomb with him and that is not acceptable nor am I going to allow that in my house.

My heart hurts and I've had my day of crying but she has made this decision for us and sadly, has made it easier for us.  I love her but I will not jeopardize the safety of Jeffery.  I am sad but after realizing (maybe naively) that Jeffery isn't even safe with her in the crate, I am ready to be done with this chapter.  After losing Rusty in December, I was not expecting to lose Hilde so quickly and having no dogs (we are not planning to adopt any new dogs ANY time in the near future) will take some getting used to.  I think it goes without saying that we will NOT be taking any "goodbye" pictures of her and Jeffery together like we did with Rusty.

Goodbye Hilde.  We have loved you a lot and I hope that you will be happy in your new home.