The Nerve (warning: small rant)

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I am sorry I have been MIA for a little while.  DH had surgery last week (he is okay, no worries), I am pregnant, etc....life has been devoted to other things lately.  Definitely still devoted to the dogs, just not as much time for the internet :(

 

Anyway, I was checking Facebook and this is at the top of the status updates:

"This is our dog Presley. It greatly saddens me to do this, but we are in need of finding a good home for her. Now that we have 2 kids our lives have become too busy for us to have pets....contact me at...."

 

Let me preface this by saying that there are circumstances that occur and families must re-home pets.  I am not trying to be judgmental by saying a blanket statement about how you should NEVER re-home your dog or cat.  There are reasons this must be done.

 

HOWEVER, when the heck did it just HIT YOU that life has become so drastically busier that you cannot care for your beloved pet, that dog that has loved you unconditionally for years?  How do people just do this?  It makes me want to cry (yes, I am an emotional mess right now and totally hormonal).

 

I know my life is going to be crazy with a baby.  I know things are going to change.  I knew I was going to have kids when I got Tacky 8 years ago and when I got Peri 3 years ago.  But when I made the decision to get choodle, I knew they would be with me, in our household, until the end.  No questions (unless for some reason a child was put in terrible danger from one of them and we don't need to get into that right now). 

 

Come on people!  I know rescue orgs see this all the time.  I see it all the time.  But I never get over it.  I think about the fact that my two dogs LIVE FOR US.  They would do anything for us.  I know I am over-humanizing my dogs, but come on.  They give us so much and ask for so little:  food, a home, companionship.  That's it.  Just because you end up having 2 human kids, it doesn't mean it's time for the dog to leave.

 

 

[Mike Gruenke]

We have a couple dogs that have adopted us because thier owners for one reason or another decided they were too busy for thier Yorkies and my wife can't stand to see a Yorkie go though home after home. I am not sure if all breeds are like Yorkies, but Yorkies really seem to take a home change hard. Harley still has some issues and I think it was because he was crate kept for too much time with no human or dog interaction, but he is a good dog. He just runs in circles alot. At first he was kind of stand offish but now he will cuddle up to anyone for attention. He will go absolutely nuts if you try to put him into a kennel.

Truthfully, after raising 4 children, I think people would be better off getting rid of the kids and keeping the dog. Our youngest is 29, married with 2 kids of her own and I still wonder if she is going to move back in again .... lol... You know the old saying.."your kids will always be your kids, no matter how old they are" ... it should be the same with dogs.

[Camilla and Darwin]

This is such a terrible and common problem that I see all of the time. It's so overwhelming and it's hard to know what the best way to help stop/prevent it is... 

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

Yep...this is a very common thing obviously.  It is very sad for the dogs.  I do hate being judgemental, because I never really know what people are going through.  Having kids (especially small kids) is very stressful and hectic, especially when you have a career too.  It is very exhausting.  However, most people simply give up way too easily.   I know I had my first dog (Ruby-miniature dachshund) before I had my kids.  She was OUR BABY.  I worshipped the ground the dog walked on.  The ONE time we went on vacation before we had kids, we had DH's sister "doggysit" her.  The whole family made fun of me because I typed 9 whole pages of instructions for her care.  Looking back, it was a bit over the top.  Anyway...when we had kids Ruby slowly got less & less attention...not because I wanted to give her less & not because I loved her less than I did, but we were just SO DARN BUSY.  But...maybe these people should understand that the dog would rather have a little less of your attention than be sent away.