What Do I Need To Know Before Adopting A Dog?
What a weekend! Actually, it was pretty tame. I just wanted to see what it felt like to say that. I spent a lot of time alone, thinking this weekend. Pondering on life and junk. You know. All that deep introspective stuff that comes up when you’re alone reading books like Danielle LaPorte’s The Fire Starter Sessions. So amongst a lot of ah-ha’s, oh-hey’s, and ding-ding-ding’s that I’ll save for another time, I started thinking about maybe adding to my family. Can you even call yourself a family when you’re just one person? Seems silly. So I take that back. I started thinking about adding a soul to my house. I’d like to adopt a dog. Maybe. I’m very hesitant about this. In theory, the idea is excellent. I’m home a lot and I’m usually alone. I have a house with lots of open space. I’m not gushy so I won’t annoy you with gobs of photos of Sir Dog-A-Lot chewing on toys and begging you for love with his eyes. I have flexibility in my day to take him on long walks. When it’s warm. And I have all this love to give. Don’t laugh. Now, I know I have way more research to do before I pick up a pooch. Also, these hesitations—could they be signs?? Dogs are a lot of responsibility and having someone rely on you for everything is nothing to shrug at. Food, play, exercise, walks, grooming, vet bills… the list is daunting. And if you haven’t realized, this isn’t even a baby. I mean, how do you ever prepare for motherhood?? Not that I’m thinking about that. Whoa now! Relax Mom. Throughout the past few years of having my cupcake shop, I had so many people relying on me all the time. From customers to employees to vendors—it was nonstop. Exhausting. Exhilarating, gratifying, and exhausting. Admittedly, it’s been really nice not having anyone rely on me for anything. Less gratifying though. More “no one needs me” feeling. Which is great… yet not. Freeing, yet oddly constricting. I had a cat once, several years ago. I adopted Arthur for much of the same reasons I’m thinking of adopting Sir Dog-A-Lot now. Cats are great companions, I always heard. They’re independent, easy to maintain, and loveable. Cat owners are seriously majorly obsessed with their cats. And thinking I’d never have children, I figured I better get started on my old lady cat collection. Arthur however, was evil. Just flat out evil. A true dick of a cat. He bit me if I pet him, bit me if I walked to the kitchen, bit me if my hand moved even two inches. There was just no ending to Arthur’s vicious nature. And as rude as Arthur was to me, as poorly as he treated me, I felt awful about giving him away. I gave him away, but I felt really awful about doing it. I failed at cat ownership. Let that sink in. So you see, all of these hesitations really don’t bode well for a doggy future. Yet I can’t stop envisioning the pitter-patter of little feet through the house and those big brown eyes smiling up at me. I’ve done a bit of research and have a breed I’ve just about fallen for. And a puppy is out of the question. Tell me though—what do I need to know before adopting a dog? What do you wish you knew before you brought your pup home? The good, the bad, the ugly—give it to me straight. Then we’ll see if there’s a dog in my near future. Follow my blog with BloglovinLeave a comment
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