Ever since Sarah the elder stateshound died in June, Mollie the dobermutt has been a pain in the ass. She's clingy, she won't go out back without whining at the back door, she mopes on the guest bed. No matter how many times we take her for walks she flips out at the sight of the stroller or leash and acts like she's been trapped in a mine shaft versus just left at home while we go get lunch. The other day she completely steamrolled Ian when Rich called her to go out back. She's a mess.

The most annoying habit is that she keeps getting in the trash. I even hear her sneaking into the kitchen to nose the lid up and look around while we're around! There's currently a chicken carcass on top of my fridge because the big can was out at the street and I couldn't trust her to leave it in the kitchen can.

We decided that we needed to get her a dog. We talked to her about it and reminded her it's a lot of responsibility but she seemed agreeable. I looked online at the SPCA and picked out a nice hound named Chevy. He was young and sweet. But when we went yesterday to see him the volunteer said she didn't think he would be a good fit for our toddler because he was so feisty. They suggested we look at Precious the pit bull but I vetoed a pit bull.

So then they said "Churchill would be good. He just came from an elementary school visit today. Let's go see him." We walked down a few rows and discovered a fat basset hound mix lying on his bed. I think his eyeballs were the only thing that moved when we walked up. I looked at him and then at the volunteer. She said, "He's a really sweet dog!" and I thought "He's an ottoman with a pulse!" So we vetoed that dog.

We turned around and noticed two hounds lounging in a pen. I asked what the deal was with them. They were brothers that the owners had to surrender because of "divorce, bankruptcy, foreclosure and working long hours." Well, damn. We briefly considered three dogs and then came to our senses. So we picked the more handsome and independent of the two and met with him. He did really well and Ian liked him.

This afternoon at lunch he did equally well with Mollie. So we brought home a hound dog.

I'm pleased to introduce Dante as the newest member of our family. Mollie loves him already as they've been tearing up the back yard running all over. The pack is on its way to being restored.