“You’re getting a dog? You’re kidding me. You?” This is what I’m hearing from friends and family when I announce the big news that we’re getting a puppy. I’ve pretty much always been a cat-kind-of-girl and I always professed I would never get a dog. Never!
But here we are—my husband and I and our two children—debating over which breed to get, which name to choose, which gender is best. It’s not surprising that people who know me are more than shocked by this development. How did this happen? I’m even asking myself this question. We had made a pact we wouldn’t get so much as a hamster when we had kids. And now we’re getting a puppy—and a kitten? (Right. I forgot to mention that.)
“Are you serious? Are you nuts?” We’ve been asked this more than once.
And the answer is nuts, no, but serious, yes. And maybe it’s easier to explain why we didn’t want pets before I explain why we suddenly do.
I’ve always been afraid of dogs. I was bitten by two dogs in one week when I was ten years old. Both times unprovoked, both times by dogs that had never bitten anyone before. So, despite any reassurances by pet owners over the years that their dog wouldn’t hurt me, I never felt comfortable around dogs, especially those that jump or charge when they say hello. And there seem to be a lot of dogs that do that. (Which is why I’m very interested in puppy training. I don’t want to have a dog like that.)
My husband and I both had dogs while growing up, but we both kind of preferred the cats in our families. We adopted two cats when we first were married, and they both ended up having really difficult litter box problems. One of them wouldn’t do #2 in the box and the other one did #1 everywhere but the box. We tried everything to get them to stop their bad behaviors, but nothing worked. When those cats passed away, we said no more pets. Especially not a dog, right? They’re so much more work than cats; and our cats had been a lot of work.
Yet here we are, looking at kittens and puppies, cruising Craigslist, googling breeders, browsing the SPCA website. Did we lose a bet? Is this some odd New Year’s resolution? No. I’m blaming our kids.
My six-year-old daughter does not play with dolls. You won’t find a Barbie in our house or a baby doll waiting to be changed. Nope, Riley loves animals. She started pretending she was a cat when she was two and hasn’t stopped meowing and purring at us. She has dozens of stuffed cats, plastic cats, and she even makes her own cats out of clay. When she brought her invisible pet cat to school for show and tell, the guilt finally overflowed. I have so many wonderful memories of my pet cats I thought it wasn’t fair to deprive her of that same kind of joy. And my parents never said no to any pet: hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, bunnies, turtles, lizards, fish, birds. (Although they never got me that horse I wanted.…)
And the puppy? How did we give the green light to the perpetual toddler also known as a dog? Deciding on a puppy was definitely a much bigger leap, almost as big as deciding to have another child.
My son has always wanted a puppy, and now that he’s nine years old, it seems like a good time. Despite my assertions that I would never get a dog, I have thought I would get a puppy for my kids if they were having trouble with friends in school. Sometimes, there’s no love in the world like the love from a four-legged buddy who’s always there for you. My son Jack’s in fourth grade and getting along with the kids fine, but why wait for trouble? This seems like a good time to have a friend waiting at home who loves you unconditionally. He’s thrilled about getting a puppy and my kitty-loving daughter is even excited, too. (And maybe it will stop Jack from asking me to “get a third child for our family.”)
And I guess the timing is right for me, too. I lost my full time job a year ago, and I’m now working from home. Without a cubicle full of pals I’m a bit lonely, and the idea of two furry companions is quite welcome.
So, when it comes down to it, the promise of more love and laughter in our home from two new animal friends trumped old fears and bad experiences. But we’ve got a lot of work to do before we open our doors to these new furry family members. And I’ll be bringing you along for the journey as we watch our family grow.
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Have you missed any of the articles in this series?
If so, you can find them at:
The Bringing Up Puppy Series page.
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