Trying to be good enough to deserve a dog

For years now my daughter Emily has wanted a dog. Any dog. Every Dog. Her own Dog.

Because we lead a very busy life (who doesn't?) I was so reluctant to get a dog. I had every excuse you could imagine. They mess up the yard, they chew on things, they wreck the floor, I like the fact that if we travel we can just go, they are expensive, ad infinitum. Every excuse in the world...When did I lose sight of everything a dog brings?

Well, for the last year and a half, Emily has been taking care of the neighbors dog every day after school and for this task has earned $10 a week...and she has saved it all so that she could buy her own dog. She was even saving up to buy a fence that we would need in order to have a dog. She has also tried to sponsor pet events and was even offering to teach the other neighbors' dogs how to brush their teeth. She really believed that she could train them to do this (wouldn't it be nice if we always believed we could accomplish the impossible!)

And this week Emily got her wish (and didn't even have to give up her hard earned cash!) in a dog we adopted from Wayside Waifs http://www.waysidewaifs.org/ (check them out they are doing so many great things for animals!) Emily wandered the many aisles and touched and talked to every dog and would have gladly taken all of them home. When she finally narrowed the field we did a meet and greet with a few dogs and she finally picked out a very sweet Beagle/Coon Hound mix named Kaylee. She couldn't have made a better choice Kaylee is sweet and lovable and couldn't be a better choice for my sweet Emily! She is friendly and lovable and can even act like a lap dog if Emily invites her.

She is content to play when we can play, sleep when we sleep, and just be a part of our family.

I can't believe that I had lost sight of what having a dog really means. I had a beautiful, fun, smart, vivacious boxer dog named Sugar Rae when I was growing up. This dog grew up with me. She ushered me from 5th grade, to junior high and all of the awkwardness and angst that goes along with it. She would listen to me as I described the atrocities of Junior High and never thought I wasn't pretty enough, or thin enough, and never did she tell me that my outfit wasn't good enough. She watched with an understanding gaze no matter what I prattled on about. When I went to high school she checked out my dates and did better analysis than any shrink could do. If everyone used the dog screening method no one would need a match making service. Dogs can sense good people and respond accordingly. My dog was even brave enough to get into a car with me when I was learning to drive. She didn't even rat me out when I got a parking ticket or bumped into a fire hydrant. No judgement was passed! She would run with me when I would work out. She would lounge with me when I didn't want to do anything. And she would wait at the door for me to come home and give me a conspiratorial glance when I would wander in past curfew and I am pretty sure would tiptoe next to me as I went to my room. She sat by me as I filled out college applications, and financial aid requests. She was there when I opened up acceptance letters and I think she was happy when I chose a college in my home town. She was ancient in boxer years especially for a dog that had epilepsy and cancer. She was at my high school graduation, spent time tanning with my friends and me at Homestake Lake, and took great joy in checking me out after I would come home from making pizza at work, as if she was living a human life vicariously through me. She hung on until my first day of college and that afternoon when I got home she was playful like she hadn't been in a long time. Then late that evening she couldn't walk and she looked at me with pleading eyes as if she was begging me to help her. I knew that she shouldn't have to suffer anymore. I got to hold her and tell her good bye. She watched me and looked grateful as the vet gave her that last shot. I held her, with tears streaming down my face, as she left this world and I knew that it was best, yet I ached as I had never ached before. It was the most profound loss of my life up to that point. I believe she waited to make sure I was a strong adult that could handle the world on my own.

I now wonder if my excuses to not get a dog had more to do with avoiding that kind of attachment to an animal or if I was afraid to let another animal in and it would take her place. Or if I was really so oblivious to what a dog really brings to a home which is...

An unending love and devotion. They are happy to be part of your life and want to spend time with you. They make you smile the second you walk into the house and the atmosphere automatically feels lighter. They bring endless amounts of entertainment, they are so great to play with and watch because they do the funniest things and are just so excited about everything. They bring happiness wherever they go. When you are with a dog everyone is your friend and wants to know your dog. Strangers smile at you more and acknowledge your dog. They want you to notice that they noticed! Dogs make kids believe that anything is possible...and with a dog by your side...anything is possible!