Several years back when my kids were still in grade school I allowed them to talk me into getting a puppy. I had been divorced a few years earlier and had gone back to college and had just graduated. At that point in my life it was like starting all over again. I had several years of moving and uncertain situations but I always made sure that dog was taken care of. I sometimes had to rent less acceptable lodgings in order to be able to keep the dog. I made sure we lived near where I worked so I could to go home and take care of the dog. Of course my kids who had promised to care for the puppy did not live up to their promises but I was the adult who had allowed them to get the pup so I was responsible for the situation. I have to admit that at one point when he was a year old I thought of finding him a new home but could not do it. The little fellow lived to be 15 years old and was a great member of the family. There was not a night that he was not on my bed with me after the kids went to bed. I never had regrets about my decision to keep him despite the sacrifices we had to make. It sickens me how people make decisions to get a dog and then dispose of it as though it was nothing. It seems as though people do not value anything or anyone anymore. Everything is disposable. |