Animals are family too

A few months back, Ethans bunny died. Her name was Sarah. It was one of the saddest things I can ever remember.
I went out to feed the bunnies in the morning while the kids were getting ready for school. Right away I noticed Sarah (Ethans bunny) was laying there stiff as a board. My heart sunk because I knew how much Ethan loved her. I didn’t know what to do. As I turned around to come inside, I realized Ethan was standing right behind me.
“What’s wrong with Sarah, mommy? Why isn’t she moving?” “I’m sorry, sweetheart, Sarah died.”

He started to cry so hard. I just picked him up and held him as he sobbed. Of course I was crying like a baby, too. It was heart wrenching. We had a long talk about Sarah being in animal heaven and how Sarah would be his little angel now and watch over him during the day. This seemed to comfort him.

I took him to school and told his teacher what had happened and told him to call me if he was having a hard time during the day. He was fine all day, and when I picked him up the first thing he said to me was this.
“Mommy, can Sarah hear me?” I told him, yes, that Sarah would hear him if he wanted to talk to her. He said “okay mommy , excuse me for a minute.” He turned around, looked up to the sky, blew a kiss and said “goodbye Sarah, I love you so much and I’ll miss you.”

Oh. my. God. I lost it. It was the sweetest thing ever.

I tell this story because my husband wants to get rid of our dog. He’s becoming a pain in the ass. He’s digging everywhere and he gets out when we’re not home. Anyway, I’m completely against it because my kids are totally attached to the dog and I don’t think you just get rid of a dog when he gets to be too much work. I think it sends a bad message to the kids, and it’s cruel. I told him I’m not going to let him do it because it will break the kids hearts. I know he’s just feeling frustrated right now and I honestly don’t think he could ever do that. But still, to even suggest it. Ugh.

Today I talked to Ethan about it and told him daddy wanted to get rid of him, so he better start helping take care of him. He got the biggest frown I’ve ever seen, put his head down and said “it’s just like Sarah, if you get rid of him my heart is going to feel sad like I did about Sarah when she died.”
Ouch! THERE IS NO WAY WE ARE GETTING RID OF THE DOG!

14 thoughts on “Animals are family too

  1. Kevin

    Do they not have dog training in the LA area? Many of the SPCA-type offices offer free classes. As far as digging & getting out goes, that can be a sign of boredom. I do the same thing @ work sometimes! 🙂

  2. yvonne

    ha! that’s what i told him, kevin. we haven’t been giving him as much attention because of the stuff going on around here, so i don’t blame the poor dog.

  3. Yolanda

    sorry, a dog, too much work? it might be a symtom of attention seeking behaviors…or maybe its a characteristic of the breed of dog he is…I don’t have children, but to my understanding, they are alot more “work” than dogs are…does he wish to get rid of them too? poor puppy.

  4. dasheekeejones

    yea obediance training is your best bet.
    your husband needs to understand that taking on a pet equals taking on ALL the responsibility both good and bad.
    animals are not toys at will; to keep only in the good.
    tell him you still keep him around when he’s a pain in the ass.

  5. jay

    You wrote: “I tell this story because my husband wants to get rid of our dog. He’s becoming a pain in the ass.” It took me a couple of lines to figure out of you were talking about the husband or the dog! =]

  6. Tracy

    Yep, that’s definitely a problem that can be corrected a couple of ways (did I mention I used to train dogs?) 😉 But a local obedience class & trainer would be better, because they can help you in person, with how to correct the dog, and other opportunities. If he’s digging because he is bored, which is pretty likely, you could always try getting him into agility courses, which are a great workout for the dog AND the owner. 😉 (And some people never believe their “dumbass dog” can do that stuff – they’re totally amazed when they do!)

  7. bozzy

    DONT YOU DARE LET HIM GET RID OF THE DOG!
    Ugg, I don’t understand the logic..what if Ethan started cussing every second of the day, non stop, without using any good words, just random cuss words, would you get rid of him? Okay, bad example.
    No seriously, people don’t get rid of their kids if they become a pain, so I don’t see the difference about dogs. I have two dogs, and they are practically a member of the family, screw practically, they are. And dog’s remember. Sure, maybe Ethan and Andrew would get over it, but the poor dog wouldn’t, and would have abandonment issues for the rest of his life.
    Now will you excuse me, I have to go play with myself.

  8. statia

    I know it’s hard, with being busy, but I’m a firm believer in keeping an animal. Just spend a little more time with the dog, but keep him. My parents did this to me when I was little, and I was never allowed to have another dog growing up.
    He’s getting out and digging for a reason. He just wants a little extra lovin’.
    Not like that, pervs.

  9. dog fosterer

    Even if you do decide to “get rid of the dog”, please just take the few weeks it would take to find him a nice home.
    Having a dog is a big responsibility, like having a child, but for whatever reasons, sometimes people can’t take care of their animals anymore. This is fine… so long as you put out the modicum of effort necessary to find the dog a new home. Your dog would have a very slim chance of surviving if you took him to a shelter and if he went to a no-kill shelter he’d honestly take the place of another dog (a stray perhaps) that could stay there. Just take some really nice pictures of him and put them up on http://www.petfinder.com and in a few weeks you can find him a home. I rescue dogs from the pound and find them homes so I know how many sweet mutts get put to sleep because their previous owners don’t take the little bit of time to find them a nice new home.
    While I agree you should keep the dog, if its causing tension in your house and you could find a loving home for him, then it’s better for the dog (even though you’ll feel sad for a bit) to go to a family who has the time for him.
    That being said, if its just because the dog is digging he probably just needs more exercise.

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