December 8 is the anniversary of us bringing angel dog Barney into our lives, a love affair that began in 2019, perfectly timed just before the pandemic. We adopted Barney via Beauties and Beasts, a wonderful rescue organization here in Wichita. The previous owners gave him up because he was infected with parvo-virus and they could not afford the treatment. Their loss was our huge gain.
We needed to decide on a name for our new pup. My favorite dog name is "Zeus," but alas, we realized early on that we had more of a "Barney Fife" personality on our hands. He seemed quite wary of the stairs at first, and he didn't bark for a week. Soon the stairs were conquered in a few bounds, and he has become quite the "talker." He takes his job of herding and protecting my spouse and me quite seriously. He doesn't relax until he knows where we are. My husband has trained him to fetch me when it is mealtime, which he does with wild enthusiasm because he knows that he is about to eat, too. He entertains us after eating by romping with a yummy sock from the dirty clothes basket. Back in the spring, when the pain of sciatica reduced me to tears, Barney was at my side. Somehow they know... I cannot imagine life without Barney and all the laughter and love he brings us.
Then there's the other side of dog ownership... I often say, "You can have a clean house or you can have a dog. You can't have both." If my husband and I want to travel, we have to take the dog, because no-way will my husband put his baby in boarding. Depending on the season and destination, this limits what we can do. Proper care for a pet is an expensive undertaking even if they are generally healthy. They require daily care whether one feels like it or not (walks in frigid temps, for instance).
Do the dog-owning positives outweigh the negatives? Absolutely!
Leta
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| How could anyone resist such a cutie!!?!? |
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