Must love dogs

The 1:10 mark? LOVE it.

Bad Mom

So lately I've been worried about my mothering skills.

Not pregnant, not where we're going here.

But I am a dog mom, which totally counts. Now, I know you're not supposed to love one child more than the other, but is it super bad to love one doggie more than the other?

Don't get me wrong, I love them both for their individual talents, but Einstein can play dead and roll over and loves to snuggle under the covers with me.

Scooter just eats poop and then her burps smell like farts. Gross.

So I ask, do any of you like one pet more than the other? And you feel wracked with guilt like I do?

Warning: Rant Ahead

I was clicking through the offers for freecycle in my email today when I noticed a trend that really made me angry.

People are putting their pets up for adoption and trying to give them away. Some of the reasons?

• "Our children are all teenagers now & nobody spends time with her anymore."
• "The only reason I need a new home for him is because he loves to run and play and I don't have a fence." Of course, the next sentence in this one was "Please contant me if intersted." Seriously?
• "We are getting rid of her because we just don't have the time for her."
• "My reason for trying to rehome them is that I am very pregnant and they have become a tripping hazard for me." (A golden retriever mix and a pit bull mix? You won't be pregnant in 2 months!)
  
• "I have to get rid of them due to the fact that I am moving to an apartment and they don't allow dogs where I am going."

I find this ridiculous. When you get a pet, you are making a serious, 10-20 year commitment. It is unacceptable to simply find a new home for a pet because it would be easier to not have a pet. When Mitch and I moved, we simply crossed rental property off our list if it didn't allow pets. We wouldn't get rid of our dog child because we could find a cuter apartment without him. And we certainly didn't get rid of him because we couldn't find the time to be a good pet owner. We make time.

Before I get an angry email from my one reader, I will agree that some instances do necessitate finding your animal a new home. If you move abroad, your pet might be required to be quarantined for up to a year. If you live alone and are pregnant, you can't medically clean a cat's litter box. If you have children and your dog becomes aggressive, you should protect your children. And I'm sure there are a number of other, quite valid reasons.

But the willingness to give pets up when they simply become inconvenient really makes me mad. Before you get rid of a pet, try this: put up a fence, exercise your dog, carve a half hour out of your schedule to play with it, find an apartment that allows pets. Basically, take some responsibility, people!

Phew, I feel better. What are your thoughts on the matter?

Extra, Extra!

Time for Valerie's life update, which one could technically argue is really the only point of having a blog....hmm.

We've been through some major changes in the Naked Wifedom lately.
1. We got another dog.
Her name is Scooter, she's a very cuddly and soft black lab. That's a labrador retriever for those of you who, well....I hope no one needed to be told that. If you did, here's a picture of what black labs look like. Also, here's your sign.
Scooter looks a lot like this dog in the picture, except way more cool. This coolness is mostly due to her orange collar and OSU dog bone shaped tag with her name on it. I would have included a picture, but I somehow lost my camera battery charger in the move. Just think of this as me contributing to the development of your imagination...or something like that.

2. Speaking of animals, our neighbor finally moved in. We were a little worried it might be a couple frat guys who would be throwing up in our nearly communal backyard all the time, but really it was Kathy, the veterinarian. Kathy is 25 like me, but unlike me, she's a graduate of Texas A&M vet school, making her a doctor.

Unfortunately for us, Kathy is a large-animal vet who will be working on the "Food Animal and Fiber" rotation as an intern at OSU's vet school. If you're as confused as I was, you're really confused right now. Food and Fiber means all those animals who are raised for food (cows, sheep, pigs, cats [I kid!]) as well as llamas and alpacas (fiber animals, hey it all makes sense!). I guess vets in Texas won't touch llamas, so there's a lucrative market for a Texas vet who works with fiber animals.

Learn something new every day.

3. Ikea exploded on my bedroom. Mitch and I bought a bed and 2 nightstands from Ikea when we were in Dallas for the George Strait concert. Unfortunately, we had to grab the last headboard from the store that day, and when we arrived home 5 hours later and I was about to pee myself out of excitement, it was broken. I cried. Honestly. 4 months of anticipation down the toilet!

So the next weekend, while Mitch was at a bachelor party watching strippers fishing, Mom and I ventured down to Dallas again to return it....and buy a million other things. That store is addictive, I swear.

But, as a reward for making it a year (almost) with Mitch, Mom bought me a dresser and two lamps. And a microplane grater. And an ambiance light. Our bedroom officially looks like the bedroom of a married couple and not a skeezy college couple. It's divine. The nice result is that I make the bed every morning now because I actually care about how it looks.

Oh look! Another great opportunity to use your imagination to picture our bedroom!

Sigh, ok I'll find the battery replacement soon.