Goodbye Old Friend (and a new one too)

Tomorrow morning we bid goodbye to an old friend.  We have decided its time to sell our 5 year old pointer, Ally. 

Tomorrow morning she will board a plane to Kentucky where she will become an old man's hunting buddy.  It's a little sad to say goodbye, she has been a part of the family for 5 years.  But we know that she will be happy to be somewhere that she can hunt more often and Benjamin will be happy to not have to chase her across the mountain again (she has gotten lost the last 4 or so times she has been on the mountain).
We also decided to send Max to a new home. 

I know we haven't had him for very long but we decided he might be happier elsewhere.  He really wants to be around people and we are pretty sure he was a house dog in his last home.  He always looked so sad outside in the kennel.  One of our friends was talking about getting a wirehair griffin so we offered him to them,  They allow their dogs into the kitchen so he will be able to hang out with the family and we think he will like that.  We will still get to see him occasionally too. 
Anyway, after discussing the whole pet matter, Benjamin and I have decided that we will keep one hunting dog, Tim (cause he is awesome) and we will look into getting a new family dog as a puppy that we can teach and train.  The boys really want a dog they can teach tricks and play fetch with so that is the ultimate goal.  We thought Max would fill that role but he is old enough that he wasn't interested in learning tricks or playing with the kids (you really can't teach a dog new tricks, hehe).  3 dogs is just too much, especially 3 hunting dogs.
So as of tomorrow, we find ourselves down to just one dog.  It will be strange, and I'm sure Tim will get a little lonely, but this will be better for us for now until we find a new friend to add to our family.