Dog Days

My family has never been animal people. More specifically, my mom and Lindsey have never been animal people. And I mean they HATE them. I can't think of a single animal they would ever want. When I was little, I loved animals. I really, really wanted a dog. But with my mom and Lindsey's aversion to them, that just didn't happen. As I got older, I started to see their point. They do smell. The do shed. They are filthy. It is gross that they lick you (and I hate it when you say that and people try to pull the "it's been proven that a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's mouth". Humans don't go up and lick you, so there).

A few months ago, I started to go back to my roots and think that maybe, just maybe I really did want a dog- but just a small one, because I still didn't like big ones. I did a little research and decided I like Yorkies. Cute and small. But I wasn' t willing to pay hundreds of dollars for one. So I watched KSL for a good deal, and one day I saw that a family was selling a tiny 7 pound Yorkie for $20. So, I called and asked if I could see it. And it was so cute! I just loved how teeny it was! So I took him home. His name was Bruno, and that had to be stopped, so I changed his name to Van (Reba, anyone?).

Van was a great dog. He never barked unless he saw another dog (Napoleon complex). He was already potty trained. He didn't shed. He loved to just follow us around the house and watch what we were doing. He did this hilarious trick where when you held up a piece of food, we would stand up on two legs and wait for it. If we were ever to have a dog, this was the perfect dog to have.

And yet...

I was constantly worried that our house smelled like dog. I stressed that he would use the bathroom in our house while we were away at work. I hated the idea that we would have to find a "dog sitter" any time we went out of town. And I constantly felt the compulsive need to wash my hands or use sanitizer EVERY time I touched the dog...which got super annoying. I tried to get over having to wash my hands, but it was just too obnoxious. To take care of the smell, I Febreezed our house a lot (and actually the dog's back once or twice, just to see if it would take) but I was still paranoid about smells.

So, after a few days, we decided that we were not dog people. We found the dog a good home with a girl that was crazy about him. I felt super guilty giving him away, but we thought it really was best for him to go to a home where he would be more loved.

I think we made the right decision. And yet...I miss the little guy. Maybe one day I'll get over my qualms and we can try to have a dog again. Maybe.