Just A Dog

I love animals. I have always been a huge animal lover! I grew up with dogs, and as a result they are my favorite pet. My husband and I were married a year when we adopted our dog Oscar. He’s a mutt… and really a very good dog. He’s friendly and good with the kids. We used to cuddle with him, pet him. He was the sole recipient of our attention. When we would go on trips we would routinely take him with us. If we stayed at a hotel, it had to be an animal friendly hotel, or they would NOT get our business! He was our “baby,” after all!

I say “baby,” because well….things have changed. When I became pregnant with my first precious treasure, my mom said, “Now that dog will be just a dog.” I didn’t believe her, of course. Even though I had other people, including my two sisters-in-law tell me the exact same thing, I still didn’t believe this could ever happen. In my smugness, I thought, “how could you?!?!” I could never imagine a scenario where my Oscar would be “just a dog.” I knew that things would not be the same, but “just a dog?” NEVER!

Then it happened, my first daughter was born. Yes, you guessed it…and Oscar became “just a dog.” Not only is he now “just a dog,” but he is, I hate to say it…a nuisance. I know, you animal lovers are out there thinking, “Did she just call her dog a nuisance? What a horrible person!” Before you call PETA, let me explain…I still love my dog. I think he’s sweet, he’s a really great dog overall. BUT that’s it! That’s where it ends! He doesn’t go on trips with us anymore, and he doesn’t get all of our attention anymore. Matter of fact, he gets the bare minimum of our attention. We’ve got children now for goodness sakes! Honestly, these days he’s just another thing I have to take care of!

He also makes my job of being a stay at home mom a little more difficult. How would you feel if you had just worked to get your baby to sleep, and the dog barks at the mailman and wakes her up? And let’s not even talk about the shedding hair all over my house. I literally have to vacuum every other day, JUST to keep up with the dog hair! He’s also under my feet constantly, when I’m making dinner, cleaning house, or carrying a baby down the stairs! It’s downright annoying!

Although Oscar’s stock has gone down considerably since our babies were born, his life is not all that terrible. He greatly enjoys when my 2 year old eats popcorn. He follows behind her like…well…a dog. Now that my 10 month old is starting with finger foods, he’s in doggy heaven! He’s also kind of a loner. We never knew before, because we always showered him with attention. He kind of prefers to be on his own. He’s also, my baby monitor. If something is wrong with one of the girls, he always comes and gets me. He stares at me with those big brown puppy dog eyes, as if to say, “Hurry up human, one of the little ones is crying!” Now if only he would stop barking and shedding, I would be in mommy heaven!