This is great practice....

Ever since I brought home Nanuq I've heard the phrase "This is great practice for when you have kids!" Why do people always assume that women are going to have children? I don't want children. Don't get me wrong, I like kids, as long as they are not mine. I'm perfectly content to be a babysitter, an auntie, that cool old person who shows up with treats - but I don't want to have kids.

Many times over my life people have told me "wait until you are older, you will change your mind." Everytime I tell them, "I don't think I will." It's not that I'm a cold hearted bitch, but I have other things on my agenda. First of all, I think it is irresponsible for ANYONE to bring a child into this world who is not financially stable. I don't care if you are a married couple, a single mom who got knocked up, or whatever, if you can't afford to give the child a fantastic life, don't bring it into this world, there are already too many unwanted children as it is. Secondly, my sister and I made a pact years ago when my mother went crazy. We shall NEVER have children. If we really NEED a child, then we can adopt, but there is no way we're passing down the crazy genes. There is a history of mental health problems in my family, why would I knowingly pass that along? That is just plain irresponsible. My mother was an only child, and since TC and I are the only children that we know of - this means we would successfully be ending this gene pool. Go us.

What people don't realize is that my puppy IS my kid. I mean, obviously not literally, but he means that much to me. Someone recently said to me that it seems that my puppy is a full time job, and yes, he is. He comes first, and plans and hanging out and everything come second. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against hanging out, but it's not always going to be as easy as "hey... come over tonight!"

On that note, he truly makes me happy. He is such an integral part of my life, I can't imagine him not being there. Sure, I complain, seriously who wouldn't? He often falls asleep at 1am, and he wakes up almost every morning at around 4:30am, if I am lucky, he sleeps till 5 or 5:30. I knew what I was getting into, but sometimes it can be a little rough, but that doesn't mean I don't love him. We've recently started with the morning walks, as I'm adjusting to the morning schedule. Never being a really early morning person, this was the biggest adjustment I had to make.

I hear a lot from strangers, and people in the park that he is really well behaved for his age. I would like to think that is partly him, and partly me. I do a lot of training with him. He has been running around off the leash for the last few weeks at the park, and MOST of the time he will come back when he is called. This impresses people to no end. It's not very often you find a 4 month old puppy that has mastered the recall command in a park setting. I'm very proud of him!

Our biggest obstacle it seems is potty training. He goes outside MOST of the time, and he knows that is where he is supposed to go, but if it is raining he refuses and will go elsewhere. He also hasn't mastered that he has to let me know he wants to go outside. Sometimes he will scratch at the door, and that is fantastic, but sometimes he just looks outside. It's difficult because I have to be looking at him 100% of the time, and I try to, but I don't always catch it in time.

In closing I wanted to add that others may be critical of my dog, but I've made changes in my life that have made me truly happy. He is there for me, he loves me, he depends on me. That's more than I can say for a select few - you know who you(s) are - you shouldn't complain about it, when I needed someone, he was there, and it's not like you've made any attempt to hang out with me. I've found something that makes me happy, and you should be happy for me. If not, then are you really my friend? I am happy where I am. I have a wonderful boyfriend, the cutest dog in the world, awesome cats, and I feed kittens at the THS which is often the highlight of my week. Sure, I have my problems, and I wish I had a better job sometimes, but hey, I choose to look at the positive side over the negative. In addition, I have friends who actually like being my friends, and are willing to work around my puppy schedule. If they are willing to do that, so should you.