2008 Woodie Awards
Lavender Menace: Think twice before you get a dog
Brook Taylor
Issue date: 4/1/08 Section: Opinions
There are really only two kinds of people in life: cat people and dog people. I personally am of the persuasion that if you don't think dogs are the most adorable creatures on the planet, you're a heartless bastard. Cats are alright, I guess, but no other animal can connect to a person the way a dog can.
But of course, my opinion is extremely biased. I've grown up around dogs, and have been known to spoil them rotten. I don't just think of them as pets; to me, they're family. When I was 14, my family adopted a cute little rat terrier named Babella. If you were to ask my mom about her children, she will tell you she has a 22-year-old in college (that would be me) and an 8-year-old at home (that would be Babe). Clearly, we don't take dog ownership lightly.
That's why I'm so bothered by a certain trend I've noticed in which irresponsible college students get dogs. I can't tell you how many stories I've heard about people rushing to get a cute new dog only to turn around and return it a few months later because they can't handle the responsibility. It's infuriating, not to mention downright cruel to give the dog false hopes of a permanent, loving family.
Look, I totally understand the allure a puppy can have on a person. While it may be difficult to reserve the soft fur and intoxicating puppy breath for a later date, it is imperative to be in a stable place in your life in which you can reasonably take on the responsibilities of a dog. No one-especially not the pup in question-will benefit from you jumping the gun and getting yourself into something you can't handle.
It was really hard for me to not have a dog around during my first few years of college-but of course, dorms aren't exactly pet-friendly. I missed having a pup to play with and cuddle up to at night. Thankfully, I was finally in the position to adopt a dog of my own last year when my girlfriend and I moved in together off campus. We found our little girl Tiger Lily, an adorable terrier mix who was one year old at the time, at a local animal shelter. She's a sweet, quiet little pup who loves to cuddle in your lap or on her favorite fleece blanket.
A few months later, after having noticed that Tigs was very social and liked being around other dogs, we decided to adopt another pup to be her playmate. She was such a well-behaved dream of a dog to take care of, and we figured that one more wouldn't be such a drastic change. We were wrong.
The story starts off innocently enough. We looked around at the local shelters, but didn't see another dog that we felt would fit well into our little family. Eventually, my girlfriend found a listing on Craigslist.com for a four-month-old Corgi-which was a breed she had always dreamed of owning-so we went to check it out. The people who made the listing, who were coincidentally another lesbian couple, had not been able to get their dogs spayed and neutered before they managed to procreate. We instantly fell in love with the little guy, so we named him Oliver and brought him home to meet his new big sister.
Tigs and Oli were wary of each other at first, but they soon developed a cute sibling relationship. He would follow her around everywhere, nipping at her and trying to make her play with him. At first, we didn't mind cleaning up his little accidents as we were housetraining him, but it got old quick-especially since we didn't have to go through that with Tigs, who was already trained to go outside.
At least, that's what we thought. Shortly after we introduced Oli into the picture, Tigs started going number two in the apartment. Every time we walked through the door, there would be a new little present for us to clean up. Between Oli's puppy accidents and Tigs' rebellious poops, our carpet was quickly becoming a stained war zone. In addition to that, my girlfriend and I discovered that Oli had a bit of a chewing problem. Every single toy we brought home would be destroyed within minutes, and we both lost a couple good pairs of flip flops.
To say that we were frustrated would only be scratching the surface of the situation. As soon as we felt like we had conquered our dogs' little problems, they would somehow come up with more. When we put him in a crate to curb his chewing and to help with housebreaking, Oli developed a whining habit that would keep us awake at night. Tigs began scratching to take our attention back from her baby brother. As he grew older and stronger, Oli started pulling horribly when we walked him on a leash. When we took the dogs to my parents' house for a visit, Tigs would run off into a neighboring field and we would all have to frantically chase after her.
Honestly, there were several times during our puppy misadventures that I could understand why someone would want to "return" their dog. Many of us who grew up with dogs assume it will be as easy as it was for us during our adolescence. What we fail to realize, of course, is that our parents did all the hard work while we got to enjoy the fun parts of dog ownership. It's not as simple when you take on all the responsibility yourself.
What many people don't understand is that raising a dog is like a full-time job but worse-they interfere with your eating, sleeping, and everyday living. Even if it's snowing or raining or sweltering hot or freezing cold, you will be outside every couple of hours walking your dog. You can't just take off on a roadtrip or a weekend getaway with friends, and don't even think about crashing at your friend's place because you're drunk. If you decide to get a dog, it will always be at home waiting for and depending on you.
Unlike school, work, or any of your other responsibilities, you don't get nights and weekends off from your dog. Thanks to our commitment to each other and our dogs, my girlfriend and I have pulled successfully through everything, and I know we can conquer anything else that our "kids" throw at us.
So don't let pup-toting celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears steer you wrong: dogs are not accessories. Sure, they're cute and fuzzy and score you the attention of passers-by when you walk them-but the reality is that they are living, breathing creatures with very real needs, and they're not just going to go away when the novelty wears off and you're done playing with them.
Read more from Brook at her blog: brook-taylor.blogspot.com
But of course, my opinion is extremely biased. I've grown up around dogs, and have been known to spoil them rotten. I don't just think of them as pets; to me, they're family. When I was 14, my family adopted a cute little rat terrier named Babella. If you were to ask my mom about her children, she will tell you she has a 22-year-old in college (that would be me) and an 8-year-old at home (that would be Babe). Clearly, we don't take dog ownership lightly.
That's why I'm so bothered by a certain trend I've noticed in which irresponsible college students get dogs. I can't tell you how many stories I've heard about people rushing to get a cute new dog only to turn around and return it a few months later because they can't handle the responsibility. It's infuriating, not to mention downright cruel to give the dog false hopes of a permanent, loving family.
Look, I totally understand the allure a puppy can have on a person. While it may be difficult to reserve the soft fur and intoxicating puppy breath for a later date, it is imperative to be in a stable place in your life in which you can reasonably take on the responsibilities of a dog. No one-especially not the pup in question-will benefit from you jumping the gun and getting yourself into something you can't handle.
It was really hard for me to not have a dog around during my first few years of college-but of course, dorms aren't exactly pet-friendly. I missed having a pup to play with and cuddle up to at night. Thankfully, I was finally in the position to adopt a dog of my own last year when my girlfriend and I moved in together off campus. We found our little girl Tiger Lily, an adorable terrier mix who was one year old at the time, at a local animal shelter. She's a sweet, quiet little pup who loves to cuddle in your lap or on her favorite fleece blanket.
A few months later, after having noticed that Tigs was very social and liked being around other dogs, we decided to adopt another pup to be her playmate. She was such a well-behaved dream of a dog to take care of, and we figured that one more wouldn't be such a drastic change. We were wrong.
The story starts off innocently enough. We looked around at the local shelters, but didn't see another dog that we felt would fit well into our little family. Eventually, my girlfriend found a listing on Craigslist.com for a four-month-old Corgi-which was a breed she had always dreamed of owning-so we went to check it out. The people who made the listing, who were coincidentally another lesbian couple, had not been able to get their dogs spayed and neutered before they managed to procreate. We instantly fell in love with the little guy, so we named him Oliver and brought him home to meet his new big sister.
Tigs and Oli were wary of each other at first, but they soon developed a cute sibling relationship. He would follow her around everywhere, nipping at her and trying to make her play with him. At first, we didn't mind cleaning up his little accidents as we were housetraining him, but it got old quick-especially since we didn't have to go through that with Tigs, who was already trained to go outside.
At least, that's what we thought. Shortly after we introduced Oli into the picture, Tigs started going number two in the apartment. Every time we walked through the door, there would be a new little present for us to clean up. Between Oli's puppy accidents and Tigs' rebellious poops, our carpet was quickly becoming a stained war zone. In addition to that, my girlfriend and I discovered that Oli had a bit of a chewing problem. Every single toy we brought home would be destroyed within minutes, and we both lost a couple good pairs of flip flops.
To say that we were frustrated would only be scratching the surface of the situation. As soon as we felt like we had conquered our dogs' little problems, they would somehow come up with more. When we put him in a crate to curb his chewing and to help with housebreaking, Oli developed a whining habit that would keep us awake at night. Tigs began scratching to take our attention back from her baby brother. As he grew older and stronger, Oli started pulling horribly when we walked him on a leash. When we took the dogs to my parents' house for a visit, Tigs would run off into a neighboring field and we would all have to frantically chase after her.
Honestly, there were several times during our puppy misadventures that I could understand why someone would want to "return" their dog. Many of us who grew up with dogs assume it will be as easy as it was for us during our adolescence. What we fail to realize, of course, is that our parents did all the hard work while we got to enjoy the fun parts of dog ownership. It's not as simple when you take on all the responsibility yourself.
What many people don't understand is that raising a dog is like a full-time job but worse-they interfere with your eating, sleeping, and everyday living. Even if it's snowing or raining or sweltering hot or freezing cold, you will be outside every couple of hours walking your dog. You can't just take off on a roadtrip or a weekend getaway with friends, and don't even think about crashing at your friend's place because you're drunk. If you decide to get a dog, it will always be at home waiting for and depending on you.
Unlike school, work, or any of your other responsibilities, you don't get nights and weekends off from your dog. Thanks to our commitment to each other and our dogs, my girlfriend and I have pulled successfully through everything, and I know we can conquer anything else that our "kids" throw at us.
So don't let pup-toting celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears steer you wrong: dogs are not accessories. Sure, they're cute and fuzzy and score you the attention of passers-by when you walk them-but the reality is that they are living, breathing creatures with very real needs, and they're not just going to go away when the novelty wears off and you're done playing with them.
Read more from Brook at her blog: brook-taylor.blogspot.com
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