OK. So what do you think?
Little Boy Blue? (left)
Or the Greenboy? (right)
(Currently named just for the not-very-visible color on their collar, although it might stick as name. . . . )
But seriously, here's the dilemma:
1. We originally thought to get a dog when our house is finished and we've moved in.
2. Dogs of this breed are not regularly to be had just for the asking.
3. Boy-Blue and Greenboy will be ready to leave their birthing home the end of May.
4. Our house won't be finished till probably August.
5. Our rental house prohibits pets (we have an express exception for our cat).
6. What do you think the answer would be to the request to bring a new puppy into our rental house for the last 3 months or so of our stay here?
7. Given 1 through 5 - and the probable answer to number 6 - what is the traveling distance (in a straight line) from Minneapolis to China?
Sorry. No. Let's try that again. Given 1 through 5 - and the probable answer to number 6 - what is the "ethical" course of action? And two: what impact do fortuitous circumstances have on the answer?
2 comments:
What have you decided about the puppies? Can the breeder keep them for a little while longer if you pay for the cost of upkeep?
We struggled with this dilemna with Barley when we were getting ready to move. My parents in Texas took care of him for four months while we were in transit. He loved it and adjusted fairly well when he came to Georgia. Now, however, the coat he grew during a winter in the Texas Panhandle is now all over our floors.
I imagine that could be a possibility, Lee Anne. . . . but one I [selfishly?] haven't wanted to consider, because I have been wanting to bond with the little guy and start his course of training, rather than having him grow into adolescence before ever interacting with him.
While I was gone, I got word that my fellowship was approved for next year, so (all else being equal) we will go ahead and get one of the puppies and I'll be on full-time puppy patrol while he's in training.
We'll obviously pay for any damage he causes, but it appears I've decided to deal with any ethical question by resort to the legal, which I deplore in my PhD thesis.
My rationale is that, since I do not expect the property owner to deal 'ethically' with me but anticipate that they would rely on the law to deny 'permission' for me to get a dog at this time, I will rely on the law to limit their remedy for my own 'pursuit of happiness' in this case. As we will be leaving in a few months in any event and we will make good on any damage to the property, they really have nothing to complain of, as that's all they could get at law under the best of circumstances.
No, I'm not happy with the foundation of this decision.
I'm still thinking about it.
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