Monday, February 6, 2012

I got/had/wish I had a dog.

Well after the New Year began, there was all sorts of new things to do, since it is all new and such.  One of the new things aside from the new camping/hiking gear that I got for Christmas, I decided that a dog would be a good idea.

During the holidays my parents were watching a dog for some friends of our family.  They had gone to Germany to be with their family for about two weeks and while they were gone, watched their dog for them.  Before they left they had mentioned that they were interested in giving away their dog to a good home because they have one child and another on the way.  It's not because they didn't like their dog anymore, they just decided in the interest of keeping the dog busy and feel loved, someone else should take care of her.  I thought, "hey what a great idea!"  So I texted them and ask if they would allow me to have the dog (Lucy, for reference sake she wasn't nameless...). Joern never texted me back, but when they returned home told me that it would be great if I could take Lucy.  They were excited because she would be going to a good home and they could see her from time to time.

I had done all the research and bought some dog stuff so that she could feel extremely comfortable at my place.  The apartment complex requires a deposit of $200 and an additional $25 a month to keep a dog.  Not the greatest deal, but I was willing to give it a shot.  Having Lucy would keep me occupied while Erica is in Dry Ridge working on her work.

Having Lucy truly kept me occupied!!

I didn't realize how much work it would be to have a dog until I had a dog of my own.  As I grew up we always had animals around and it didn't seem so bad.  But I suppose that is because of shared responsibility...  I had to wake up early to take her out, try to get home early to take her out, and take her out late at night.  Lucy was a lot of work for me to handle, especially the realization of what to do if I went out anywhere.  Having been around a few people at Joern and Vero's apartment, there was always some noise that she was used to.  As well she had lived with Vero for almost 3 years and had become very attached.  She didn't adjust well to living with me...  She would go to the bathroom, eat a very small amount of food, and remain lethargic the entire time she was here.  The greatest thing was the fact that she had a very small bladder!...  I kept her in the bathroom during the day to allow her to have more room than being caged.  The first day she made a small mess on the floor, the second day she used the rug, the rest of the time she used the bathtub...  I couldn't get mad, but it was disgusting.

On top of the doggy depression, she seemed to cause my allergies to flare up.  There was one evening that I decided to have her chill with me in the recliner and sleep on me.  Well when I woke up, my eyes were swollen and I was having a difficult time breathing.  Not so much fun!  Long story short, I decided that keeping Lucy wasn't going to be for me.  Before I got her, my parents informed me that if I didn't want her, they would take her.  And that is exactly what happened.  Miraculously though she is doing wonderful there, she loves it!  Kind of a downer that she loves it there so much and disliked my place so much.  But it's probably because of their dog and three cats she can play with at almost all times.  I'm not terribly distraught, having a dog was way more work that I expected.  If I want to play with an animal, I suppose I'll just visit family or friends who have pets.  Simple fix!


To use the words of Adelle, my dog days are over.  I only kept Lucy for a week before I allowed my parents to soothe her of her sadness.  Who knows, I might eventually have a dog again down the road, but for now I'll just stick to my empty apartment with my two plants.

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