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Would it be crazy if I opted not to go home to the Toronto area for Christmas and instead spent Chrismtas at home in Ottawa where there will be no (human) family members and only a few friends in town, simply because I do not want to leave my doodles behind?

 

I knew that when I decided to become a dog owner that it would be tough to figure out arrangements for when I went out of town to visit family or friends. But I didn't want to let that stop me. I figured, I'll just find a good kennel, no problem! Well, little did I know just how emotionally bonded I would become to my little monkey doodlebug and what do you know? next thing I do is go out and get another one.

 

So here I am, two doodles and kitty cat that I can't stand to be away from, and not a family member in sight who wants anything to do with them over the holidays. Well, that's not entirely true... at first my brother said yes, it will be fine, we'll just have to keep them in the back yard. He didn't see me giving him the finger because we were texting at the time. Then he said we could try keeping them in the basement but Marisa, his wife, would have to agree. I told him I'd make a special visit in November with Winston so they can meet him and see how wonderful he is. Weeks went by and I heard nothing. I reached out again and told him that my kennel of choice (a cage free boarding place in the country) was booking up and I didn't have much time to decide. Finally, last night I get an email from my sister in law saying that she's too worried about her anxious cat and how he would react to the dogs so she'd rather I didn't bring them.

 

My dad's place is out of the question as he has allergies to dogs and he is a big slob and I hate staying there, and don't want to suddenly find my dogs eating something off the floor or Winston going nuts on his itch paws because his house is so dusty and moldy. Not to mention my own allergies. I can only tolerate one night at my dad's place, and don't think it'll work with the doodles.

 

I have an aunt who might take in Winston while I stay at my brothers (they live quite close to each other so I'll still be able to see Winston), but she doesn't want Sophie because she's too hyper.

 

Here's the thing, December 25 is Sophie's first birthday, and call me crazy but celebrating her first birthday is 100 times more important to me than celebrating a certain someone who was supposedly born on that day but history and science tells us is not actually the case (I'm very sorry to offend anyone but my beliefs have changed over the years and while I believe in the importance of celebrating Christmas for all the positive values that it promotes, I am simply not the good Catholic I was raised to be).

 

I'm afraid if I leave Winston with someone else he will panic. Once we went out for a walk with a friend and I asked her to hold him while I ran back inside to grab something. He freaked out and wouldn't budge an inch or take his eyes of the front door. I am so worried he will think he's been abandoned again. I would hate for him to feel that way, especially on Christmas. I cannot fathom leaving Sophie in a kennel on her first birthday.

 

And, if I go without my doodles I will be utterly miserable, depressed, resentful of my family, and worried sick about my babies.

 

So, I want to stay home and spend Christmas with my doodles. They are my family and I don't want to be without them on the biggest family holiday of the year, i.e. Sophie's birthday Christmas.

 

What do you guys think?

 

 

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Sheri, if Christmas is not the holiday you use to think it was now to me there is no question where you should be, with your babies at home celebrating Sophie's Birthday.

We have one child, every Christmas we would pack up all of our stuff and travel to whichever family's turn it was. I hated it. I used to think why do WE have to travel to them, why not them coming to us. I understood with my family as there are other siblings but now when it was DH's family there was just his parents and his brother and they lived together. When we moved back East I put a stop to it. Every Christmas we stayed home. We had a wonderful day, big breakfast, off to the movies and then home to a wonderful dinner. One year the movie was later and we ended up searching for someplace to eat and ended up in a Chinese restaurant. Ha ha, just like the Christmas movie.

It is now different as DD is married and we have to share her with her DH's family. No matter though cause now WE have Daisy.

Thanks Lisa!

To me, pets are family members, so you would be spending Christmas with your little furry family.  I like the idea of the pet friendly hotel if you can afford it - that way at least they would be in a comfy home-like setting and you'd see them every day.

 

We are spending Christmas in Arizona, and will be worried about Luna the whole time.  She is staying with relatives though, and she adjusts well to new surroundings.  She will have some "play dates" with them between now and then to get used to their house, but I still worry that their house may not be doggie-proof, or that she may get sick while we're gone etc.

 

If there were a way to bring her with us we would, but I don't want to put her through a long plane ride.

J, thanks for your comments. I hope you have a great time. I'm sure Luna will adjust just fine, and it is definitely better than putting her on the plane. Arizona will be so nice for Christmas!

Sherri, here comes another one of my thoughts, random but I was thinking about it in terms of being a mother. What if, you tell your Mom that this year you are not going to be able to be there for the actual Christmas Day but that you would LOVE it if she would come to you. Not knowing the financial circumstances for your Mom, maybe you offer to pay 1/2 her air fare, and get this going asap so you get the best rate. It doesn't have to be more than 1 or 2 days and really it doesn't have to be Christmas Day it could be "your Mother Daughter Christmas". This way she can spend time with her daughter and get to know Sophie and Winston (and the kitty of course). Maybe you can do the same thing with your Dad on a different weekend.

Apparently you don't have to worry about your brother and his family, you can just send your niece a gift and be done with it.

Is any of this feasible? I know I would be devastated if my DD didn't spend Christmas with us.

Oh Lisa, thanks for the kind suggestion. Unfortunately my mom is sick with mental illness and dementia and lives in an assisted care facility. She doesn't take well to christmas. Last year we all went to visit her and she threw a tantrum and kicked us all out. She is not well and is especially bad around Christmas. I know she will be upset to hear I'm not coming but if I do I probably won't see her anyway and the experience will only add to the negativity. I wish it were different but it's not so I have long ago accepted it.

 

I really appreciate the thought though. I know I have some aunts and uncles, cousins and old friends that will be disappointed if I don't come down for a visit, which is the main reason I'm still considering it. I did make a fully refundable reservation at a pet friendly hotel just now, so I can take my time to decide. I have decided though that the dogs will be with me, no matter what it takes.

I am so sorry, Sherri. That is a lot of heartache. I hope you have a lovely day wherever you spend Christmas.

sorry to hear about your Mom, that would be terribly hard.

I think the dog friendly hotel is a fabulous idea...also your excuse to vacate, "oh, I didn't realize the time, I simply must go now as the dogs need to be pottied", good thinking Sherri!

Whatever you do I am glad the doods will be with you.

Sherri if it is more distant relatives that you all would miss seeing.  Go when you can take the dogs, stay in a hotel, and have it NOT be Christmas.  Go when the weather is nice and you can visit more outdoors.
I like the idea of a pet friendly hotel, but you wouldn't want to leave the doodles there by themselves all day.  Do you have access to a van or mini van?  You could take out the back seats and put in blankets, pillows, toys and bones . . . . then take the dogs out for really LONG walks, or go to the van to visit them for long periods of time.  OR STAY HOME!  I would not put Bodi in a kennel, although there are plenty of people who do just that.  Let us know how it goes!

Sherri I know this is a serious dilemma you're having, but I just wanted to let you know that this part made me LOL: "He didn't see me giving him the finger because we were texting at the time." I think that traveling over the holidays is terribly stressful which is why I never do it anymore. (Of course, I live in Florida so it's not that hard to get people to come here instead.) If it's at all an option, I'd wait to visit until after the holidays when you can do it on your own terms--whether that means making arrangements to have someone come stay with your animals, or taking them with you, or whatever. Either your family will understand that you don't feel comfortable making the trip, or they won't (and you have little control over that), but I do think you can do what's right for you and your furry family without completely depriving your human family of the pleasure of your company.

Oh, we have been through this more times than you can imagine!  My husband's family lives in Arizona and we go there a couple of times a year (whenever my 96-yr-old FIL requests our presence).  We used to stay in his mobile home that was empty most of the year and the dogs would come with us and stay in the mobile home.  We never left them alone and they would come along to any family's homes that we were visiting.  Dad lives in a senior retirement home and things kind of changed when he sold the mobile home.  We have gone a couple of times and stayed in pet-friendly motels, but it is a long drive and difficult for me (not the dogs - they love it when they see us packing up the car).  Dad flew out here this summer with an attendant, but it is a lot of problems to fly with his oxygen.  So he asked if we were coming for Thanksgiving this year.   We have hired a pet sitter to stay with the dogs at the motel when we go out for a dinner, but that requires some coordination, which is not too hard since there are plenty of relatives around town and their teen-aged children love to pet sit at a motel.

Well, I decided that this year I was not going to struggle with all that so I gave my son the choice.  He could drive to Arizona with his dad, or he could stay at our house with the dogs for four days while I drove to Arizona with my DH.  He decided on staying with the dogs.  They love him, so they will all be fine.  But, everytime we decide to travel somewhere it is the same thing.  I definitely prefer just to stay home, but I understand my husband's need to see his family also.  So this year it is Thanksgiving in Arizona and I can stay home for Christmas with all my boys.

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