With college now back in full swing, I often sit and think about how fun and cute it would be to have a puppy. College kids do not understand how hard taking care of a precious puppy's life can be. It is so hard to allow them to run and play without yards when we live in small apartments and dorms. It was not until I read this letter written by my cousin, Sara Jane Moorer, that I realized how easy it is to be selfish about having a puppy and how bad that selfishness can mess up that precious little puppy's life. So to anyone, whether you're a college student or young person considering pet adoptions, please checkout this story about the realities of pet adoption.
A letter to the dog I abandoned because I was selfish…
(Titan is my American Staffy AKA “pit bull,” that I adopted when he was 3 months old. I acquired him from a lady who had her hands full. He is now almost 3 years old.)
Titan and I were playing on my Dad’s farm this past Sunday, and I really realized how blessed I was to have a dog like him. My dad has chickens, cows, kittens, you name it. Titan (randomly) decided he was interested in chasing the chickens. As he began to run full-speed towards the chicken coop, I yelled “Titan, come! Now!” He immediately stopped what he was doing and ran over. I got down on his level, looked him in the face, and said “don’t you dare go near those birds again, do you understand?” HE LISTENED. Not one more time did he try to mess with the other farm animals. (And he followed me around at my heels for the rest of the day- which is what Titan spends 90% of his time doing)
My dad had a friend over that afternoon. He didn’t realize I was listening to what they were saying. He told his friend “Yeah we weren’t sure about that dog when Sara Jane first got him, but man he sure is a good dog. I’m really impressed at how well she’s been able to train him, and how long has she had him?”
This made me both incredibly happy and incredibly sad… here’s why.
“… How long she has had him”
When my dad said that my immediate thought was “well duh... when you get a dog you have them for their whole life”
Or most people keep their dogs for their dog’s entire life...
When I was a seventeen-year-old freshmen in college, I decided that I was responsible enough to get a dog. It was spring, and everyone was having dog-owner fun. Going to the dog park, taking their dogs to music events, running with their dogs, etc. That sounded fun! What a reason to get a dog. Plus, everyone thinks it’s cute when a girl goes and adopts a dog from the humane shelter, right?
His name was Keller, and he was a beautiful 1-year-old lab mix with one blue eye. I immediately fell in love. They handed me the adoption papers and I scanned through them; “a dog is a life long commitment... blah blah… they take a lot of time to adjust and train... blah blah...” Whatever, he was cute! I signed the adoption papers, and took him home that afternoon.
Keller was SO BAD. He tinkled in the house on EVERYTHING, he chewed EVERYTHING, he couldn’t be kenneled because of barking and he ran away every time I cracked the door. You name the problem you could have with a dog, we had it . The only place I could have him was at my parents in Hardaway, AL – where he could roam and play. I lived in a small apartment, without a yard, in Auburn, AL. To be specific, I lived on Ross- which is an extremely busy street, with lots of traffic. After an entire year of “putting up” and “trying," I returned Keller to the humane shelter.
I told them I have exhausted all of my options and it was simply impossible for me to take care of this dog.
Years later, as I sit here with my sweet puppies. I can’t help but ache as I think about Keller, about where he is right now, wonder if her was euthanized, if another loving soul adopted him, how he is doing.
I will never know what happened to Keller, and honestly I don’t deserve the privilege of finding out.
The reason I have started to reflect on this; is because we recently added another puppy to our family. This spring, I went to the Lee County Humane Shelter to take my daughter to see the kitten room. Somehow, I walked out with the cutest little “foster” puppy. (Please contact Lee County Humane Shelter for fostering information-it saves lives) After my two weeks of fostering was up, I decided Niko had to stay. I convinced myself since we were moving in the Fall anyways, we would have a fully trained dog by the time we moved! WRONG. (We move in 7 days and Niko is about 80% trained... we forgot how hard is is.)
Niko is a little monster. He tinkled on just about everything before he was house trained. He still has occasional accidents in the house. Usually, his accidents are somewhere embarrassing- like my parent’s kitchen floor. He has chewed the carpet up, and we expect zero of our deposit back. He chewed my Chaco’s, and he has even peed on my bed. I joke all the time about giving him back. But I would never give up on the dog I committed to.
As I look at my well-mannered Titan, I think back and (now) laugh at how bad he was. All the shoes he chewed, the hats, the walls of the house (literally), the only cable remote in the house. I wont even list the casualties of house training. We made it through being a puppy, and today I have the dog that gets complimented on his behavior.
So as I sit here thinking about this- I think about all the accommodations I have made for my animals, and how crazy animal people are. I could never exhaust every option when it comes to my dogs, because I made a commitment to them when I adopted them. I promised I would be their forever home, and I will never break that promise. There are actual cities I will never be able to live in because of breed legislation laws, but I will never leave my Titan in a shelter to move. I have spent more money than I want to think about on vet bills, special skin treatments, boarding fees, etc. Although I often find myself WELL in over my head with my dogs, the option of “rehoming” them will never be an option, because I made a life long commitment to them.
So to Keller, the sweet puppy I abandond;
Keller, I am sorry for not making accommodations for you. I am sorry for not doing everything I could to train you. In hindsight; you tinkled in the house because I didn’t let you out enough, you chewed because I didn’t exercise you enough. I could go on about how I failed you as a dog parent, but I wont because I already think about it all the time. I hope that a responsible owner found you and that you go on long runs every day. I promise I will never do that to another animal, and I will make sure I do everything I can to make sure no one else does either.
To you, a puppy may be only part of your life. But to them, you are their whole life. Dogs are the only creatures that love you more than they love themselves. Love them back.
