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My Boyfriend Wants A DogThe Resource for Everything About Dogs |
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My Boyfriend Wants A Dogby Fran Watson
My boyfriend wants a dog. Now that may seem a simple enough statement and many of you who read it will say, ?that?s great!? or ?what kind?? However, others of you may say, ?Why on earth would you want a dog?? I have to admit, at the risk of being stoned or flamed by dog owners, that I am somewhat in the latter category. Now I am not a stranger to dogs. When I was growing up we had dogs. My dad loved dogs and we had a variety of them over the years. I have 4 root canals in my front teeth thanks to a dog who jumped up as I bent down, but that?s not the reason I now object to having a dog. When I met my boyfriend he was a cat person. He had 3 cats and I had one. When my cat died after 21 years I did not get another. I had raised 4 kids and several cats and I was finished. When my boyfriend?s cats died, he too decided not to add any pets to his household. But then something unexpected happened. A close friend of the family became confined to a nursing home and his dog needed a place to stay. The dog became quite comfortable with my boyfriend and his mother, but it created some major problems in our relationship. No longer could he come to my house and stay over. He had to go home to let the dog out. His mother claimed she couldn?t look after the dog. Any long trips ? the dog had to come. And sometimes his stomach didn?t like the long drive and he upchucked all over the car. My boyfriend took it in stride, but my stomach revolted. He looked after the dog for over a year, but it had been sickly to begin with and eventually had to be put down so as not to suffer anymore. Freedom?.or so I thought. Within a couple of weeks he announced that he?d like to get a new puppy in the spring. I?ve tri3ed to talk to him about this, to make him see the realities of having a puppy. The fact that he isn?t home all day, every day to train it. I?ve said that a dog restricts you, that you can?t just leave a dog and go away for the weekend like you can a cat, and I know he wouldn?t put the dog in a kennel because he doesn?t think that?s fair. He says he?ll drive the dog 35 miles to his mother?s and she can look after him. I?ve seen the way she looked after the other dog. She spoiled the dog, gave it the wrong kind of food and went against whatever my boyfriend said. I understand some of the reasons he wants a dog. He is living on his own. He was married and his wife left but his mother lived close by and he saw her every night for supper, then she moved in with him after she sold her place. Then after 4 years she moved out and he got used to having the dog to talk to. But why a dog? Why not a nice little kitten??? Oh, I know what he said. Cats shed and he doesn?t want to be vacuuming every day. He used to keep covers over the couches. The type of dog he wants has hair like a poodle so the vacuuming is not as frequent. Where does this leave us? I don?t know. I guess I?ll just have to wait and see what happens. At the moment he?s befriended some stray cats. He feeds them regularly, but they aren?t allowed in the house... yet!
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