the hawkeye update

we couldn't do it. we met the couple wanting hawkeye last night (they drove an hour and 15 min. for a visit with him, bless them). they were great, and we know they would provide him with an excellent home and loving environment. but we were so upset when they left just thinking about actually packing up all Hawkeye's stuff and dropping him off at someone else's house and leaving him forever, that we had a long talk and decided that it's not the right time. there have been times in the past when we would've welcomed adopting him out, though we also admit those times tended to be a year ago, when we were in over our heads with two puppies and a newborn. hawkeye has mellowed much since getting a bit older, and i imagine he'll continue to do so. we don't know what the future will hold but we do know this experience was enough to reveal to us how much we care about our dog. we got so far as to come to terms with the things we haven't been doing (not giving him as much petting and affection as he deserves, failing to take him on outings to the dog park/farmer's markets/other dog-friendly places, and re-instituting some training to keep him from jumping up on people). yet we jumped the gun and went straight to "give up" instead of making efforts to address those concerns. we broke the news to the people, who i know will be very disappointed. and we've re-commited to hawkeye as dog owners to see him in a different light. after all, he is a good dog and we have spent the last 2 years together as a family. so we're moving forward with good feelings about making him more a part of the family. after all, who couldn't love this face?