I thought I'd never love another dog like my lil' Cairn, Maddie and I had some small doubts whether she'd accept another dog into the family. She just tolerated my other lil' Cairn, Murph.

I took the risk when she and Murph were around 11+ years old though. Thinking that if I got another dog while she was still here, it wouldn't seem so much like a replacement. She and Murph would be apart of the memories of that lil' puppy.

In came Oz into our lives and low and behold we all liked him, even Maddie. I loved him every bit as much as my other 2, but made sure that their spots and attention level were not threatened by the lil' puppy. In fact, they loved to see him coming, cuz it usually meant treats were coming their way too.

I think it was a really good decision. Maddie passed away about a year after getting Oz and he has never felt like a replacement for her. The memories of the two are entwined, like I had envisioned. Gully, the Collie puppy I got many months after Maddie died though, was a bit more of an adjustment. I had more of a mental struggle to not compare him to Maddie. He eventually wheedled his way into all of our hearts too, even Murph.

Anywho, that was a long way of saying, that it can work out, as long as you make sure your current dog, does not feel he's losing out on something because of the new dog. It's a bit of a juggling act at the beginning, but I found that each had a different need and thing that they loved and I'd cater to that, to bond with each one.

Par...