I have an 8 pound toy poodle named Simba. I had wanted to get a dog ever since I graduated from college and began graduate school 3 years ago, but my boyfriend/fiance/husband (progressing over the course of those 3 years) was not convinced. Granted, having a dog is hard work. You have to walk them, bathe them, feed them, etc. I made a solemn vow to the hubs that I would do everything to care for our dog and he wouldn't have to lift a finger. He, however, pointed out that, although I see myself as being extremely ambitious, I tend to get about half way through a project and then set it to the side and not finish it (I have about 5 unfinished scarves hanging on knitting needles, 40 sets of wine charms that I have crafted that have not been posted on etsy or ebay, and a pile of scrapbooking supplies for our wedding from last summer with no actual wedding scrapbook). With a dog that results in death and then animal abuse charges and jail time. I also haven't ever been able to keep a plant alive (it's not that I neglect them - it's because I love them too much. You can over water a plant, but a dog will stop drinking before water toxicity).
Surprisingly the impetus that led to our getting a dog was when a man in fatigues tried to break into our house last summer (I'll give more information about this sometime in the future and explain why I have no desire to venture into big cities). The hubs was a medical student and had to be away from the house pretty often to be on call. I told the hubs that I wanted a dog to protect me from future invaders. I began by looking at large dogs online, but the hypoallergenic breed that I wanted (goldendoodles) cost about $2000. Finally, I stumbled across a teensy cloud of poodle on craigslist that only cost $50. It was kind of difficult explaining to the hubs how a then 6.5 pound malnourished toy poodle could protect me from burglars, but in the end I prevailed.
Owning a dog has helped us to learn new facets about each other. This is mostly because the hubs and I entered this endeavor with different views regarding dogs. I grew up with 3 shih tzus who were a part of my family. My mom called me the dogs' sister and she was their mom. We fed them top quality food (which used to be dog food but my mom has since switched to feeding the last of the three dogs Sara Lee Deli Meat because of his chronic pancreatitis), provided them plenty of toys, and let them sleep in our beds. The only time that they went outside was to go to the bathroom or for the occasional walk. They went to the vet every time they had a sniffle or a sore.
The hubs' family owned hunting beagles. The dogs lived outside (I don't believe any dogs should live outside), ate scraps (including bones which can cause major intestinal problems), slobbered, rolled in the dirt and were, in general, gross. The dogs would sometimes escape into the woods when they got free from their post (if one of my dogs ran away I would not be able to sleep until they returned home safely). Instead of going to the vet they would live by the philosophy of "rub some dirt in it."
Simba has changed the way that the hubs has seen dogs, and the rules that we initially established quickly dissolved. The first issue we had is that we were immediately faced with a $500 dental cleaning/booster shot bill from the vet, followed shortly thereafter with a $200 neutering bill (after Simba tried to get it on with a professor's dog). This was followed by approximately $350 in bills for an ear infection that wouldn't go away. Next was the issue of table scraps. We decided when we got Simba that he should eat a 100% dog food diet. That lasted all of 3 weeks until we discovered that if you feed him nothing he will pester you the entire meal, whereas if you feed him your last bite he will sit patiently knowing that his reward is coming. Finally was the issue of the cage. My dogs were never caged growing up. For the first week that we had Simba, the hubs insisted that he be in the cage every time we left the house since we didn't know if he would chew on things or leave us little gifts. After a week I decided that I felt like a meanie every time I put the dog in the cage so then we transitioned to only putting him in the cage to sleep. Within a month, however, we felt bad that we left him home alone so much so we decided to let him sleep in our bed to make up for our absence throughout the day.
Since then we (I) have bought him a rhinestone dog tag, a dog purse so he can go into stores with me, specialty dog treats and several other toys. He sleeps in our bed, eats some table scraps (which may have aided in his 1.5 pound weight gain), naps on the back of the couch during the day, has his own plane ticket for a trip that we are going to take this summer, and gets his belly scratched for a good half an hour every evening. When I want the dog to go find the hubs I say "Go find daddy!" to which the hubs responds "He's a dog, not our child." Then I say, "Don't be ridiculous." and we scratch Simba's belly.
He may not be a very good guard dog, but I feel better knowing that he is here and that he is a member of our family.
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