Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The Big Decision

So, every week while the girls are in dance class I stroll down to the pet store in the same shopping plaza as the dance studio. A few weeks ago they got a litter of Australian Shepards. And I fell in love with them. I would come by once a week & pet them. Last week all 8 were still there & yesterday they were down to just 2!

The guy in the pet store asked me if I wanted to hold one. Of course I did! So, I put the little girl in my arms & we cuddled for 15 minutes... long enough to develop an attachment. Sigh.

I've already named her. Double sigh.

It took J about an hour to be convinced that a dog would be fine, but now I'm still convincing myself. I love dogs. I'd love to have one. I have time for a dog right now with my schedule. The kids would love a dog. Our house is only 2400 sq feet, but that's okay, right? Our backyard is not fenced, but we back to woods, have plenty of paths & sidewalks & I could use the exercise.

What happens if J & I broke up? Who would get the dog? What happens if the dog is untrainable like the two Boxer puppies J had when I met him? (those dogs were horrible!) What if J's cat hates the dog? What if the dog hates the cat? What do we do with her when we go out of town?

What if we just brought her home & she fit in perfectly with our family?

Decisions, decisions.

1 comment:

eednic said...

having a dog can be a pretty big responsibility. something you are likely already accustomed to (having kids and all), but in a different way i guess (i don't have kids, so I wouldn't really know! but I do have a dog!)

there's potty training to think about. and you have to be consistent in general with training them not to do things you don't want them to do in your house. and the vet bills can really add up, but you want to make sure they are visiting a vet regularly because dogs can get into lotsa crap!

clementine has arthritis, a pretty expensive malady! she's on prescription dog food, can you believe it??? and she needs lots of regular exercise to keep her hips flexible. and sometimes, i come home, and she just doesn't get up and it breaks my heart. but it's also really nice to have a snuggle puppy around.

are your kids ready to take on some responsibility with a dog too? it can be a good learning experience for them.

one thing is for sure, only get the dog if you are committed. don't get the dog then give up and dump it at a shelter. !!

and that's all i have to say about that!