Since getting the new couch we have been asked the question"why didn't you just get rid of the dog" and to be honest I wasn't sure how to answer that question at first, but after giving it some thought I now have an answer. At first I didn't understand why the question was ever asked. The answer was so obvious and simple. "Because she is a member of our family. We love her". But after giving it some thought I realized that maybe the answer was only obvious and simple to me. The purpose of this post is to address the question "why didn't you just get rid of the dog" because I feel that it does deserve to properly and thoroughly answered.
I'll start with, what is to me, the obvious answer. Lilly is a member of our family. We love her. She is treated with respect and dignity and she plays an important role in our family, just as her Cockatiel brother Dante Peaches does. I'm sure that seems ridiculous to some people. There is a distinction between people that keep dogs (or any animal for that matter) as pets and people that integrate them into their family. In case you haven't realized it by now Lilly has been fully integrated into our family. There are paintings of her hanging up in our living room. I made her a toy box. I'm writing about her on a blog titled "Love, Lilly Bug" for crying out loud. She's my baby Bug. The fact that a question like "why didn't you just get rid of the dog" was asked knocked my breath out a bit. To me the thought of giving Lilly up, especially over something as insignificant as digging some holes in the furniture, was utterly ridiculous. And honestly I was a offended at the thought of someone thinking that I was capable of doing something like that, and that thinking something like that was acceptable.
When you adopt a dog you become their whole world. They put their love and trust into you and only you. They rely on you, and only you, for food, water, shelter, affection, health care, love, and so much more. I don't know about you but the thought of being 100% reliant on someone else to take care of me for my entire life terrifies me. This is the life of a dog.
I think the best way to answer the question of "why didn't you just get rid of the dog" is with the "I am a forever dog" poem.
I AM A FOREVER DOG, NOT AN 'UNTIL DOG.'
I'm not an "until you get bored with me" dog.
I'm not an "until you find a girlfriend" dog.
I'm not an "until you have a baby" dog.
I'm not an "until you have to move" dog.
I'm not an "until you have no time" dog.
I'm not an "until I get old" dog.
I'm a FOREVER DOG.
If you can't give me forever, then I'm not your dog.
IT'S REALLY THAT SIMPLE.
I'd like to add my own line...."I'm not an "until I eat the couch" dog.
Lilly is a forever dog, as all dogs should be. In a perfect world all dogs would be.