Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Loyal Belle

AKA: Disposable pets, continued
I never thought it would take me 5 days to get back to the pet story, but life's just crazy sometimes.
So for years we told our kids 'no' to getting a dog under the veil of being excellent parents and wanting our kids to assume the responsibility of caring for the dog. Yada, yada, yada--I was just procrastinating the inevitable agreement. I finally gave into those cute little faces and said 'yes'. Kevin insisted we needed a golden retriever, so, Belle enters our lives and $300 exits our wallets.

I'm glad my kids have a dog. They all love her, all minus Alyssa. I just see her as something else to clean up after. We always have hair in the carpet. Even if Zac brushes her everyday which just makes our backyard look like a ghost town. Instead of tumbleweed, we have these giant balls of hair blowing around. I wonder what the neighbors think when one of those things blows into their yard. She also has epilepsy, and when she has seizures, she throws up. Guess who gets to clean that up.

So what I can't figure out is, why is this dog loyal to me? I do not pet her. I do not brush her. I rarely talk to her and I do not feed her. I used to feed her but that was before she ate my quilt--the one I hand quilted! (I'm still a little bitter about this incident. Okay, I'll be honest: I'm still a lot bitter about this incident. I don't know if I'm ever going to get over it.) The closest I get to doing anything for this dog is yelling at my kids to let her out or feed her. So why does she follow me around? If I go upstairs, she goes upstairs. Doesn't matter where the kids are.

If I go downstairs, she goes downstairs. Doesn't matter if the kids are all still up there in the playroom; she follows me. Why? I do not get it.

If I were her, I'd be hanging out with these people who will scratch her ears and rub her belly and give her treats. Maybe some of you pet people can solve my doggy mystery.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

She's trying to win you over, you're a challenge. Anna (my baby, not my dog!) did the same thing this week with the electrician. He was all business and she was not satisfied that he was preoccupied. She tried everything to get his attention, laughing, talking, crawling up by him. Finally he took notice and she then lost interest. A thought for you... maybe you could "fake" interest!

Anonymous said...

Three thoughts:

1) Because we have taken away their ability to forage for food independently with the invent of leash laws and fenced back yards, pets have to depend solely on their "people" for all things life sustaining.

2) Children and animals generally do not falter in their impression of people. Ever witness a dog growling at someone for no apparent reason, and then see that your children are also leery of the same person? It seems that sweet Belle knows what a wonderful person you are...

3) Domesticated animals display one of God's qualities that so many people could only hope to emulate - they love unconditionally. Even when we don't deserve it. Even when it seems that we will never return the love, they do not give up hope. They apply gentle pressure to remind us of their devotion. We don’t question that. I don’t think you can question this. Just make Zachary clean up after her… (Sorry Zac!)

Sharon said...

You guys are just trying to get me to love on her! Another thought--I'm usually the one to let her out when she needs to go; maybe that's why she loves me!