Puppy Mania (part 3)

Eventually my sister and I realized that the angels we thought our puppies were, were actually , how should I put it, DEVILS. Well, the afternoons in the sun with a puppy on each of our laps, was wonderful. But, by the end of July, the sentence “Simon had an accident!” made me literally fall over in tears of exasperation. And probably the worst part was bringing the dogs out for a walk. The one second we didn’t watch them because we, for example, had to get our hats on, would be the second they decided to take for the road! Inconceivable! This was tough. This started to become so tough that we considered doing the thing that every dog owner fears, GIVING THEM AWAY! I guess my mother considered the possibility more than Lindsay and I ever did. We never thought for a second we would give them away. We already loved them too much. I must admit, taking care of another living being is as hard as carrying a 100 pound rock up a slope. But gradually, the puppies got more trained, and behaved much better. I believed that they could be as good as any dogs in the world. And now they are the best dogs I could have hoped for. The only problem is, that they could use a little more training, and I STILL can’t find the things they might have stolen from me, like socks or shoes. When you think about it, it’s us being trained, not the dogs. You know, to put the shoes in an invulnerable place, and pick up all of my homework, since the excuse “the dog ate it” unfortunately doesn’t fly. Although my life has completely changed with my dogs, I will never regret it from this point forward. 1

In conclusion, owning dogs, is not just like owning one of those Tamagotchi things, where cleaning up messes is a push of a button, or where all you have to do to walk you pet is to hold down button “A” and “B” at the same time. Because that would be nice sometimes. But, on the other hand, owning a Tamagotghi doesn’t let you hug or pet your pet, or even let you know that your pet loves you back, besides showing you a heart at the top of the screen. It just isn’t the same. Having these puppies taught me about responsibility and commitment. Because I couldn’t just abandon the puppies like an unfinished art project. I also learned what it is like to be unconditionally loved. My puppies never asked me “What will you do for me if I love you?” And I never asked THEM that question, either. And finally, what might be the most obvious of them all, is that I learned the true responsibility of a pet. I never thought a pet would be this needy, and this important to me. Even today, I am shocked at how hard it is to leave them in their crates, and how much they love to see us come home. My dogs are my best friends, and I can’t imagine life without them. 2