Dogs

When I was growing up we had two dogs, one when I was very little and we ended up giving her away because she got out of our yard so often, and we got another one when I was about ten, who we had until about three years ago when he was put down because of old age. My parents had one very strict rule about dogs, "They are never allowed inside the house for any reason," a hurricane could be hitting Utah for the first and only time in time in history and the dog is still not allowed in the house, but in that one instance maybe they can come in the garage. I always felt bad about this rule, it never felt right to me, I understand why you don't want an animal in the house, they can break things, chew on stuff, pee on your carpet and they can smell bad.

Now all of these things are fixable with training and a bath but at the end of the day you are still letting an animal live in your house. As my dad would argue, why not let a pig or a horse in your house? Because a dog shows affection, love and is a protector (even if they can only bite ankles). My wife and I bought a lab/rotti mix, and I didn't understand that I could love a dog that much. The fact that we let him in the house has changed the way I have viewed dogs in the past. He has become part of the family, not just a pet. Now many people can take that way way way to far, and they do,




but how far is too far?

I guess the point of this is to say I love my dog, and maybe I let him get away with too much.