Puppy Love

I'm not a dog person. Not really. Though my friend Sara and sister Pam have nudged me across the threshold into dog-loving territory. They both live with adorable and very friendly and well behaved canines who have stolen my heart. At the same time, it isn't likely that I will become a dog owner anytime soon. First there is the matter of Newton and Einstein, who are deeply suspicious of other humans I allow in the house, never mind entertaining guests of the four-legged variety. It wouldn't be pretty. I enjoy the lower maintenance that goes along with cat cohabitation. This sounds lazy. Okay, fine, it is lazy. Stop judging me. Scooping poop isn't exactly glamorous and I do that pretty much all the time. My point was that in my experience there are very few bad seed sort of dogs. There are, however, dog owners who don't do their job to properly train and care for their pets. Making said dogs not merely annoying to be in the company of, but downright aggravating and at times dangerous to be around. Taking on any pet requires a certain level of dedication and responsibility. And dog owners who haven't the will to do that belong in a shelter rather than their errant, misbehaving pets. After reading this article, I was heartbroken over the number of owners who surrender their dogs, and how many of them are euthanized. And the whole breed-blaming rather than considering individuals makes me crazy. We're an odd lot in this country. We're horrified by cultures that eat dogs for dinner, yet so many of us are willing to neglect, inappropriately breed, and mistreat the dogs we claim to love. And often love has nothing to do with it.