We got Pearl because Sam seemed lonely and depressed and we thought it would be great for him to have a companion. Since we got her, she has been incredibly high energy, which is fun and John enjoys it, but it gets to be very frustrating when we need calm in our home. She definitely provides Sam with entertainment and companionship, but also doesn't give him a break. They will wrestle and play for a long time. She will grab his collar to pull him down; he will quickly turn his head to sneak out of her hold and grab her ears. They run, chase, scamper, play, growl, and bark. It is funny to see his response when he is sick of playing. When they are outside, he just hides under the deck. When they are inside, he will come over to us and look with big eyes as though to say "Please make her leave me alone!" Then, when she comes over again, he'll slink off behing the chair or toy chest until she gets distracted and then go lay on his bed in our room. She is not allowed in our room.
Whenever we have people over, she barks, wags her tail, and gets up in their space. She means well because she is just very excited, but for anyone who is slightly indimidated by dogs, she can be scary! We usually end up putting her outside or in the back room the whole time that we have guests.
Pearl doesn't chew toys or pee in the house, but she does make a mess. I think she sheds about twice as much as Sam, which means I feel the constant need to vacuum. When we are gone, we leave them in the back room, which is totally tile/brick. We do have a couch in there, but it will be in the garbage very soon because she destroyed it. Other than the collection of dog hair and smell, she also found a small tear, realized that the couch was filled with fluff, and decided to help us empty it out. After emptying/destroying one of the cusions, she started on the next one. We removed all of the couch cusions to the garage at that point and just left her with the frame. Just to make sure that there was no more white fluff, she pulled up some of the fabric from the bottom until she found the springs; then she gave up. She also makes a mess in the back yard because for some reason, she decided that shitting on the driveway is way better than shitting in the grass or back behind the shed.
All of these things were just things that we had to deal with from my perspective, but Eric was pretty sick of her. The big thing that changed my mind happened earlier this week. I was straightening John's room before bedtime and he was playing with/chasing the dogs. This is usually very entertaining for him. Pearl is generally very patient and will allow him to climb on her, play with her tail, hug her leg, etc.
Well, Pearl laid down in her bed and John went to snuggle up to her. I went back to my straightening. I'm not sure what John was doing (sticking his fingers up her nose, poking her eyes, and pulling her whiskers are all possibilities), but I heard a growl and bark and then John started bawling. I went to get him and he had a lovely little bite mark on his hand. No broken skin or blood, but it was obvious that she had bitten him. Unfortunately, that is not ok with me.
We decided that John is old enough now to be a playmate for Sam without hurting him, so Pearl becomes unnecesary. While I'm fairly certain that John provoked her, I do not want to have to watch them constantly whenever they are playing together, especially when baby #2 arrives.
We found a couple on Craigslist that wanted her. The guy wants a running partner and the girl grew up with Great Danes and Labs. We made it very clear to them that she is high energy and explained her many faults, but they still wanted her. They even paid us a bit for her, so hopefully they will take good care of her.
Anyhow...we are back to being a one dog family. Sam has needed a bit more love and attention this week, but he doesn't seem too heartbroken over her leaving. In memory of Pearl, here's a picture and video:
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