Human's Best Friend

My husband thought he'd successfully dodge the pet request phase kids normally go through. He couldn't be more wrong! It sneaked up on him when they were grade- school age, and in the battle of pet procurement, he lost. It swam it's way from several beta fish, crept into a hamster before morphing into a puppy. Of them all, the last one was his utter defeat. It's not that he had an abhorrence in living with animals. He once owned a cat. He simply was not a dog person, or so it seemed. He didn't merely take this defeat lying down though. There were certain conditions the kids had to meet. The following were:

1. SELECTING the breed- It had to be non-shedding, medium to small size and reasonably trainable. Dog hair would be messy and big dogs mean, big excrement. Both kids had allergies, so the non-shedding criteria was easy to comply. The excrement part was hilarious, but understandable. All I had to do was imagine it in my yard! These set conditions ruled us out from shelter dogs. The kids and I searched and we found our Duke- a cockapoo. His Poodle gene made him reasonably trainable.

2. TRAINING- It had to be potty-trained. There was no question on this. It would be unsanitary to have a non-potty-trained dog. The first 2 weeks was critical. We enforced crating and that was the right decision because the puppy was fully trained by the end of that period. We took him to a basic command class and my husband even came along each time.

3. CARING (Involving Feeding, Walking, Clean-Up)- This was significant for him. It's another 'thing' to take care of. The idea of having dog waste in the yard without picked up was repulsive. Our oldest son became a dedicated dog walker in rain, snow or sleet the first 2 years we had Duke. It definitely taught both kids responsibility, with the youngest getting away most of the time.

4. COST (Involving vet visits, grooming, boarding )- Undeniably, the cost of owning a dog could become insurmountable. Maintaining good health for pets was crucial as they could pass diseases to humans. Boarding was necessary when going on vacations.

Since I was part of the collusion, I was to enforce these conditions, in addition to any remuneration that came along with owning a dog as mentioned above. Like Pilate, my husband washed his hands from Duke. It was that way until...life happened. The grade school kids turned into teens with hectic schedules and finally, one, out of the house to college! Guess who does number 3 on the list these days? Pilate, who once washed his hands from Duke, does! And what about number 4? Well, it now comes from the conjugal pot. It just happened naturally. It does appear he lost on this one but I can tell he doesn't have any regrets when he urges Duke out for his evening routine. When the last kid leaves, we have Duke to keep us company. Besides, I now have more evidence that owning a dog is beneficial to his health. Just check what American Heart Association lately says.

#pet #dog #dogbreed #cockapoo

The man and his friend.