A fourth dog?

I think we may have officially lost our minds. Several weeks ago we almost took in a friend's miniature schnauzer because she needed to find a home for him, and although that fell through it shattered the three-dog ceiling we had in our heads and allowed us to think we could handle another one. I checked out the Dallas miniature schnauzer rescue group online just for fun, and we saw a little guy on there that peaked our interest and we decided to inquire about him. I should have stopped myself. But I have this habit of checking into things and walking through open doors until they close on me, and that gets me in trouble at times. It's how I got this job so it's not all bad, but leaving no stone unturned can also lead to pool tables, flat-screen TVs, and now an overwhelming number of pups.

This little guy is about two years old and he only weighs 9 pounds, so he's smaller than Marlee Bean, our littlest. Where else are we going to find a 9 pound schnauzer? The opportunity may never come again. And he won't eat much. We won't have to buy much extra food. (Justify, justify.) But check out his story. His owners dropped him off at the pound a few weeks ago because he had a broken leg and they couldn't pay for treatment. Don't know how he got the broken leg and I may not want to know. His owners also said he had irritable bowel syndrome. Doggie IBS. The miniature schnauzer rescue group picked him up from the pound and paid for a cast on his broken leg, and he has been in foster care since then. His foster mom says his cast is off and his leg is healed, and he doesn't even have IBS. She just thinks he was never properly house trained, and it's likely that he spent most of his time in a crate and couldn't go outside when he needed to. His foster mom house-trained him and now he's accident-free. Who wouldn't want to give this little guy a better life after all he's been through? He deserves toys and treats and big comfy beds, not broken bones and crates.

We had to make the decision last night, so when I picked Angela up from work yesterday I asked how she was feeling about it, and all she said was her heart hurt. :-) Aww. This sweet dog needed a home, but could we handle a fourth dog? Either way we might be hurtin'. I felt the same way. But we talked it out and decided to err on the side of love and goodness. So we're going to meet this dog on Saturday and if we're all a match we'll adopt him. I have to go home now and break the news to the other three. Pierre and Marlee will be excited that there might be another playmate around soon, and Sophie the diva will just lie in the sun and chew on her bone and do her best to remain above it all. Dogs. I love 'em! But we're nuts.