Letting go of Manny.

I've been really sad this week after letting my dog, Manny, go live in a new home this past weekend. Jake bought Manny for me 2 years ago, and we've spoiled him ever since. Jake thought I needed something to take care of, because I wanted to get pregnant and it just wasn't happening. It was a good idea, and it worked for the most part. I still wanted a baby of course, but I enjoyed having Manny around and taking care of him. I'd never been one to have a dog in the house, or any pet for that matter. I guess I've always been such a clean freak, I was worried about the shedding, etc. I got over that rather quickly with him, even though he shed some kind of awful. He was always happy to see me, and he was very protective of us and our home. Manny is also very special to me because he was with me through my pregnancy. I know that may sound funny, but it was comforting to have him around. Jake was pretty busy with baseball season last year, and it helped having Manny home with me. He had his bad moments where he acted up, but for the majority of the time, he was just a good dog. Things began to change when Avery arrived. He seemed to be ok with her. We put one of her hospital blankets in his house before bringing her home, and let him sniff her and get to know her when she came home. I thought it would all be fine, but once she got a little older, things changed. Manny began marking his territory around the house at first. We handled it, even though it drove us nuts. Then he just began to act out, peeing and pooping on the floor when he'd just been outside. He snuck in our room, and marked the corners of our bed and new comforter. I would've even gotten over that, but he was also tearing up Avery's toys, peeing on her floor blanket, and he got into her room after jumping his gate one day and went to the bathroom on her rug. He always tried to get attention when people were giving Avery attention, and he would snatch her snacks from her hand and run off too. Jake and I just didn't know what to do with him. With all that has been going on with my family and with Avery, I just couldn't deal with the added stress of this situation. Thankfully, another MC coach said his mother loves daschunds and would love to have Manny. She has an older one already, and I knew Manny would love that. We'd actually been considering getting another one for Manny to have a play-mate, but just couldn't do it right now. He said Manny would be treated like a king and get lots of attention. I went back and forth and just couldn't decide what to do, and I cried a lot as always! In the end, I decided to let him go. It's just better for him and better for us in the long run as much as it hurts me to see him go. I felt like such a bad person for doing it, but I know I have to take care of Avery first. we just didn't see those behaviors changing and had heard of that breed doing such things. I am just so grateful for the home he went to, because I know he will still be spoiled and well taken care of as long as he lives. I'm crying as I write this, because Jake is gone, and I miss ole Manny here to "protect" Avery and me. It's hard to get used to.