Posted by holymama on May 8, 2004, at 8:12:53
In reply to warning: dog-lover responding!, posted by finelinebob on May 8, 2004, at 0:03:39
o.k., I'm a person already piled high with responsibility -- I have three kids ages 5, 4 and 2 and I have three cats, now one has just had 5 kittens, a big mortgage to pay...I have to be all grown up. But getting a puppy in December made me feel the same panic that you felt! Puppys are a lot of responsibility, and they are a bit trapping. It's the first step before having children, they say. You have to let them out, play with them, watch that they don't eat your shoes, feed them, not leave them alone for too long which seriously changes your social life. I paniced because even though I have no social life at this point, adding one more serious responsibility was adding more chaos into my life. But I have to tell you a secret; the panic goes away. Once you start to fall in love with that puppy, you soon realize that the joy you get from it is worth the hassle of keeping it. And then the panic goes away, and you end up in love with this funny little dog.
Imagine the panic that sets in when you have your first child...and they want you to take it home with you from the hospital...and you can't give it back to the pet store...:)!!! But somehow, with all of that panic and responsibility, I've had three kids, and my pet assortment keeps growing and growing...
the point of my story is that, panic over a puppy is normal, especially if it was your first one. WHen you feel ready to get one again, just realizing that that feeling is normal, even a mother of three kids with a menagerie of pets has felt that same emotion, you might ride it out, and let yourself fall in love with it.
poster:holymama
thread:344603
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040507/msgs/344706.html