When my son started campaigning for a lizard, we put him through the ringer until we were convinced he was responsible enough to take on being the caregiver of just a little life. We had him read up on the type of lizard he wanted (gecko), and we had him talk exhaustively with the very patient customer service guy at the local Petsmart. We even had him work out the monthly cost of keeping a lizard fed and healthy. He earned that lizard. So when the kids turned and asked how we chose Callie, our dog…I was quite mortified to admit that I had not been that intense in my research.
In fact, with Callie, I pretty much did everything wrong. I say ‘pretty much’ because the thing I did get right was not buy her from a pet store. She was in all sense of the matter, a rescue dog. I had been researching breeds online for a little while when I started thinking about a dog for our family, but one day had been perusing Craigslist, and sadly there is a LOT of animals up for sale on that site. One ad caught my interest and the next minute I had the kids loaded up for a drive into Whalley where I confirmed there is NO truth in advertising. There were no lab pups for sale…just Callie, clearly a mutt. I took one look at her and the place and new she had to get out of there. We paid the man and scooped her awkwardly up and she has been with us ever since.
Either we were lucky or we are AMAZING pet owners. She is a fantastic family dog and we all love her to pieces. She, like any other dog is a lot of work. A dog is a lot more responsibility than an aloof cat. Not only does she require a lot of emotional support (dogs are needy) but she, like all dogs need to be exercised, fed and there is all that poop to be dealt with too.
Dogs take up a lot of time and money. A dog is a member of your family whether you realize it or not. Callie’s needs have to be considered just as much as anyone else’s in our family. I wonder if there would be so many dogs in need of homes if people really thought about this.
We visit Petsmart a lot to pick up our supplies and the kids love all the fish, lizards and rodents as well as the rescue cats they have there. It is probably as close to a ‘pet store’ as I am truly comfortable with. The other weekend, after being there, we took the kids to the SPCA. We got two of our cats there and wanted the kids to see the work that went on in the effort to care for all the animals there. While the kids enjoyed chatting with the volunteers and talking to the animals, I think they were very humbled by WHY those animals are there.
To all you loving pet owners out there, I tip my cap to you. To those thinking about a dog as a pet…..do your research, think about your lifestyle and make sure you can keep that dog.
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