A Boy and His (neighbor’s) Dog
Little Dude wants a pet the same way we want to retire to Hawaii– IE, b-a-d: BAD.
I know this for two reasons:
1) The other day he picked a caterpillar out of the dirt and explained to me how he’d train and feed it. Sadly, after eight hours in a jar in the sun, that didn’t quite work out.
2) Last night, he asked me to take pictures of him with Brownie, our neighbor’s sweetheart of a dog.
“Hey, Papa. Come take pictures of me with Brownie!”
“How come?”
“Because I don’t have any!”
OK, makes sense.
Still, when I think about getting a pet (and by pet we’re talking dog– that holy grail of suburban pet ownership), I get all weak-kneed under the weight of responsibility. Poop responsibility. Polka-dotted lawn responsibility. Hair all over clothes responsibility. Potentially smelly house responsibility. Required adoration responsibility. Not being able to vacation without worrying about abandonment guilt responsibility.
Which I guess makes me a crusty, poopy-pantsed jerk. Still, these pictures beg the question… Why buy a dog when you can enjoy someone else’s?
“Why buy a dog when you can enjoy someone else’s?” Brilliant.
P.S.- A parakeet can be left alone for a week. Goldfish are easy. I hear rocks can make nice pets.
Parakeet! Jackpot.
As for rock pets, I think you’re on to something. If we didn’t already have a rock herd.
id say stick with the neighbors dog, as much as i love my 2, i feel like they are severely neglected now days. Perhaps when the kids get old enough to take care of all the duties (including love time), and dad somehow miraculously gets cured of his allergies, when i have a no grass yard they cant damage and magically self cleaning floors, then I will think about another dog. Now i understand why mom and dad never wanted to get me a dog once we moved to Colorado…I forgive them finally. Maybe I would think about a less hairy, smaller version dog…I think I could handle that, but small dogs just aren’t the same..such a predicament.