Life Choices – Dogs

There are moments when we come to a place where we have a choice to make. Sometimes there is a simple, straightforward answer but other times there can be unforeseen consequences. I’ve made a few decisions based on requests by my children for example that I would have done differently had they not made the request. I reflect on these moments as logical vs emotional decisions. Emotional decisions can be the ones that have us questioning if we made the right decision. Today it’s Dogs.

Pets…

This is my weakness. I am an animal person. When my husband asked about getting a dog my reply was logical and I said absolutely not. I don’t want that much responsibility. When our daughter, who was ten at the time requested a dog my reply was emotional. I did tell her that I didn’t want the responsibility of having to take care of a dog. Going for walks, picking up poop, etc… Of course she enthusiastically volunteered herself to share these duties with her dad who also vowed to be responsible.

The responsibility doesn’t end there.

• Vacations are more complicated with dogs.
• Having company is more complicated with dogs.
• Thunder storms are more complicated with dogs.
• Fireworks are more complicated with dogs
• Autism is more complicated with dogs

I can’t say that I regret getting the dogs, but here I am thirteen years later with two aging dogs and that little girl who wanted them has since moved out. It’s like I have a 75lb puppy now. The poor guy has doggie dementia. That’s a whole other post though.

What I learned… I’m a cat person. While I love my dogs, they are a lot more needy than cats. If I had a way to see into the future and know that I would have an autistic child three years after acquiring the dogs would it have changed that emotional decision to get a dog?

Also what I learned… life doesn’t usually go as planned. We do the best we can with the information we have at the time. We trust the process. I know that God put these dogs in our lives for a reason and I will do my best to keep them safe and healthy until it is their time. After that, we’ll stick to cats.