So before I get into the real topic I wanted to talk about
in this post, I’ll give a little update on the pregnancy so far.
I have
officially reached week 39. I was hoping I would never see week 39, and with
some issues I experienced a month ago, I didn’t think I would make it here. For
those of you that don’t know, I was put on bed rest (for the most part) as I
was having pre-term contractions that were not at all like Braxton Hicks
contractions, but luckily they deemed that I wasn’t in labor. These contractions
continued until I was right at about full-term. I hated having these
contractions, as they were extremely painful and primarily in my back, but now
I can’t have a contraction to save my life. I’ve had no Braxton Hicks
contractions, no real contractions, nothing, zip, and zero. I also have had no
change in 3 weeks of doctor appointments. At this point my doctor thinks he
will most likely need to be evicted, so this week at my next appointment we
will schedule an induction for around 41 weeks, just to make sure it is on the
books. Obviously if he decides to come sooner, great! But if not, at least I’ll
have a scheduled time and he will be here before Christmas. So, that’s what’s
going on at this point.
If reading about my pregnancy progress is all you care about, you can stop reading here. If you care about issues concerning real life, continue reading.
In the past few
weeks, I have been getting the same question over and over again by different
people. That question is “So are you going to keep your dogs?” I have to admit
that I was shocked the first time I heard it and each subsequent time has just
brought me to anger. Why does this make me angry? It makes me angry because
this means that far too many people seem to believe that dogs are disposable.
Well, let me correct that thought process. Dogs are NOT disposable. They aren’t
a toy that you bring into your home and then remove after they become
inconvenient. When you buy or (preferably) adopt a dog, you are taking on a
commitment to add them to your family for the rest of their lives. Believe it
or not, but dogs have emotions. When displaced from their homes, they don’t do
so well. They get confused, depressed, anxious, and all they want is just to go
back home. So re-homing them, if you are lucky enough to find a good home for
them, is stressful and can cause strain on the dogs and the family to which you
give them. Now, to an even bigger issue: notice I mentioned “if you are lucky
enough to find a good home” to re-home your dogs. Finding a home that fits your
dog’s personality and way of life is extremely difficult. Especially if you
have multiple dogs like we do. When animals live together, they become part of
a pack and it increases strain when they are separated. Giving my dogs up would
most definitely separate them; the main reason being that Tramp, who we adopted
from an animal rescue, is under contract to be returned to the rescue if we
ever plan to give him up. That leaves our dog Lady, to go to a home by herself,
which is a HUGE problem. See, Lady is a basset hound mix, so if left alone she
WILL chew things up. She doesn’t do well as an only dog. She NEEDS a companion.
Also, because she is a basset, she requires individuals who are patient and
understanding, because she is an extremely stubborn breed that is very hard to
train. She also LOVES children…a little too much…and if not properly supervised
has been known to knock kids over. We have worked on this with her and she has
been doing great, but with a new family who doesn’t know what to look for, she
will most definitely accidentally hurt someone. So Lady, most likely, if a home
is found for her, will be given up quickly and surrendered to county. If we
couldn’t find a home for her to go to (which is the most likely scenario) she would have to go straight there, as
non-profit rescues rescue dogs from county. They typically don’t take in
surrendered dogs.
Do you see the problem? No? Ok, let me tell you a little
about animal shelters. Humans are just as likely to win the lottery as a dog
who is surrendered to a county animal shelter is to be adopted. Thousands, yes
I said thousands, of dogs are euthanized each YEAR because there isn’t enough
room, and they didn’t get adopted. You want to know what breeds of dogs are
euthanized first? Pit bulls, rottweilers, and other misunderstood breeds.
People don’t like to adopt these breeds because they are ignorant of the truth
that people make dogs violent and they aren’t inherently like that. Well, so
what? You said your dog was a basset mix. You’re right, she is. She’s a basset
hound, rottweiler mix who doesn’t have an aggressive bone in her body. She loves
all dogs, adults, and children, but because her information will say rottweiler,
she will never get adopted. According to some volunteers at Maricopa County
Animal Care and Control, pits and rottis have a 3 day adoption opportunity. If
they aren’t rescued by another shelter or adopted in 3 days, they are euthanized.
So my precious and sweet cuddle bug will die, simply because I gave her up. I know some people will think I’m being
melodramatic, but seriously, go talk to people who work in animal shelters.
Sometimes, it’s not a rewarding job.
I can anticipate the follow up comments already:
“Well you
won’t have time”
“You will think different about them when you have your own
kids”
“What if your kids get scratched or they are allergic?”
I can anticipate
these comments because they are common reasons I hear when people up their
animals. So let me say my peace on these excuses.
“I don’t have time”- That’s a bunch of bull. You have plenty
of time. You just don’t want to MAKE time. You can make time just like parents
of multiple children make time for their new addition despite being stretched
thin. What do you not have time for exactly? Dogs sleep like 12-16 hours of the
day anyway. I know, because I’m home with mine ALL day. When they need walks,
they invented these great things called strollers; you can bring your new
addition with you. Plus, family walks have been found to be extremely beneficial
for family bonding. Feeding them takes less than 1 minute, and all the
attention they need is love and affection that can easily be given while you
are watching your favorite TV show, and don’t act like you don’t watch it.
“You will think differently about them”- I’m sorry, I just
don’t understand this one. My dogs show me nothing but affection. And every
time I pet them my body releases a hormone called Oxytocin. This is the same
hormone that is released when a mother bonds with her newborn baby, or when
adults are in love. That won’t change with a baby added to the mix. I have
plenty of love in my heart for my adorable, cuddly pups and my new baby.
“My kids got scratched and my child is allergic”- Yes, it’s
true, dogs have nails and they can hurt. That’s why they invented these great
things called clippers. Now, I know my dog has the hardest time getting her
nails clipped, but we do the best we can and then take her on walks to wear
them down. Also, the dogs scratching the kids thing is more of a lack of
supervision than it is the dog’s fault.
Plus, scratches go away and I promise the child will live.
Now I
understand that the dog allergy is a bit more difficult, but there is
medication that helps. Giving your dog away before you try the medication is
just sad, because many times it can be helped. Also, my child is going to be
exposed to our dogs right away. According to the pediatrician who wrote the
book Eat, Sleep, Poop, the earlier you expose your child to pets the less
likely they are to develop pet allergies. Hopefully this never happens, but I
will try everything in my power to treat the allergy before I give up my pets.
So to answer everyone’s question: WE WILL NOT BE GIVING OUR
DOGS AWAY. They are a part of our family until the days they die. Some people
may be angry after reading this post, but frankly, I don’t care. Dogs are not
disposable and if more people felt that way, we would have much less problems
with dog overpopulation and dog’s being put down.
Rant over.
