When I was a kid, we had sheep. The sheep did a pretty good job of keeping themselves out of trouble. They moved together as a flock, for the most part, and although we had the occasional stray, their life was predictable and staid. Then one day, a friend had to get rid of her sheep dog. He was a beautiful Old English, and friendly as all get out. Unfortunately, their family was going through some changes and could no longer provide the kind of life, and exercise, he deserved.

Immediately, she thought that we’d be the perfect fit for him, since we had plenty of room for him to run, lots of other companions, and of course, sheep. Since we had no reason to think otherwise, we agreed to give him a home. Everyone had the best intentions and meant well. It seemed like the best solution for everyone at the time, given the options that we had.

However, we had failed to consider that the sheep hadn’t grown up with a dog like this, and the dog, although he had some latent instincts, really didn’t know what to do with the sheep. The dog did what came naturally to him and he tried to herd the sheep into the barn. All the time. This created quite a problem when they would try to come out to graze. It wasn’t long before, terrified of the dog, they scattered to all different directions, and became lost without the rest of the flock. We began to have to lock up the dog and keep him confined during the hours that the sheep wanted to graze. This began to defeat the purpose of giving the dog a home.

One day, the dog broke out of his confine when we weren’t there and proceeded to split the sheep up. By the time we returned home, almost half the flock was lost for good. We searched for days, finding one in the river, almost drowned, finding the remains of another that may have been brought down by coyotes, who wouldn’t have thought to take on the flock had they been together. It was a very sad situation all around, full of unintended consequences. Ultimately, the dog could not stay with us. We all felt terribly about how things worked out.

In time, I learned more about dogs, and realized that both sheep and dogs need to be trained to make the relationship work out. I also learned to spend some time researching and investigating the right dog for the right job. Dogs have a calling, a nature, and although you can provide training, it’s going to be hard to get them to go against what comes naturally to them. Putting the wrong dog in a job that doesn’t come naturally to him or putting a dog that is qualified into a situation where his skills aren’t utilized can be a recipe for disaster. Not only is the dog unhappy, but the owner is likely unhappy with the end results as well.

We are getting ready to bring a dog into our family, and while there is certainly a lot of merit in going to the pound and giving a stray a home, and there are plenty of dogs out there deserving of a good home, considering our needs, that isn’t going to be a good option for us. We need a dog that can do a lot. The Wonderful Husband wants a dog that can hunt. I want a dog that can handle coexisting with livestock. The kids want a dog that will be playful and loyal and all the things they want in a family pet. It’s a tall order, and after months and months of researching and talking to different dog experts, we think we might finally have agreed on a breed that seems to fit all our needs. Now, we are in the process of talking to various breeders and trying to find just the right dog.

Ultimately, we realize that this dog is probably going to cost a pretty penny, but considering all the expectations that we have and the years that this dog is going to be with our family (hopefully), we think it will be worth investing in the right dog. We also realize that this dog may take months to find, and many more months, even years, of training and work, but again, considering the long-term commitment and impact that this animal will have on our family, we feel that this is the right way to do things.

I haven’t thought of that old dog in years, but recently, the subject of arming teachers with guns came up, and for some reason, it reminded me of that situation. A local school district has decided to proceed with a plan to arm the teachers. No doubt, everyone in this situation has the best intention: keeping kids safe. That is a noble cause, but I feel like in this case, those good intentions may well end up like those that led us to take in that crazy old dog and may end with similar consequences: innocent lives lost.

Although claims have been made that the research has been done fully, a simple conversation with local educators and questioning other governing bodies that have a vested interest in the situation revealed that several important discussions seem to have been skipped. Financial figures have been thrown around that don’t necessarily match up with figures quoted for similar programs in other districts. One school board member answered yes to a question while another board member simultaneously answered no. When questioned, both the school board legal counsel and the school superintendent said that they recommended against the policy as it was approved and had recommended other options instead. Still others question the legality of such a policy when the state has yet to approve a policy and the governor has vowed to veto one should it come across his desk.

I have no doubt that the right answer, just like the right dog for our family, is out there, but it’s going to take considerable more work, a lot more questions asked and answered, and, yes, possibly cost more than we’d like it to, but sometimes that’s the price that needs to be paid to get things right. In the long run, it’s a lot cheaper that more blood on our hands.

Liz Pinkey is a contributing writer to the Times News. Her column appears weekly in our Saturday feature section.