The Dog Blog with Kathryn Socie

All Puppies are Cute

By Kathryn Socie, 8-25-08

	Even Eli, the cat, begs you, pleads actually.

A hearty welcome back to all the students recently landing in the lovely Missoula valley with the aim of expanding their minds and opportunities in life (hats off to you).  A true believer in free will, I completely allow for people to make their own choices and mistakes uninfluenced by any amount of rather meager wisdom I might have to offer, but for some reason I need to make one brief exception to my normal rule and share a bit of my thirty-something-life-long-doggedness.

I know it’s tempting, but please, I beg of thee, don’t get a dog or, at the very least, seriously think long and hard before you do. Yes, I know the recreational possibilities con canine are plentiful in these parts.  Yes, I know you grew up with a dog, totally dig them and feel you absolutely “need” one.  Yes, your current landlord will let you have one with an extra couple-hundred dollar pet deposit, which your folks are willing to help you out with.  Yes, you found the perfect puppy in the paper. I’ve heard you sharing with your buddies all the places you’ll go with your new dog in tow.  I’ve also heard plenty of folks remind you that a dog is a huge responsibility and I’ve watched you roll your eyes at them.

Responsibility is the wrong word. Take a moment to envision your future.

As you look into the pleading eyes of the fuzziest, cutest puppy you’ve ever seen, try and picture it a year from now when it’s a maniacal teenager bouncing off the walls, wreaking the kind of havoc only young dogs can.  I’m sure you’ll have the kind of time necessary to invest in meeting this not-so-cute-anymore insane dog’s needs. You have uber-energy, allowing you to carry a full course load, work part time and get together daily with that super cute girl (or guy) from your chemistry class (who doesn’t dig your rambunctious pooch at all).  Naturally, you’re going to get up before your 8 a.m. lecture everyday to get the dog out for a good run, stop home at lunch to let the dog out and race back before work to feed and do it all over again.  You have such loyalty to your mutt that you will tell your latest big crush that you would love to spend the night (nay, every night) with him/her sans mutt, but it’s just not fair to your dog, thereby ending the potential for romance.  But for you, it’s totally worth it.

You will happily stand by as your friends pack up for a weekend in Glacier or a backpacking trip in Yellowstone because you get to stay behind with your beloved dog not welcome in National Parks. Won’t it be so great for you when that amazing job tracking snow leopards in the Himalayas gets offered and you have to turn it down because you can’t leave your dog for two years?  Besides, you never really wanted to travel, see the world, or be gone from home for very long anyway. You chose a wildlife degree for the physics and statistics curriculum and the opportunity to watch David Attenborough films, not to do any sort of remote field work, let alone anything internationally.

When your dog gets bored during finals week because you are a little pre-occupied and eats the zipper on your favorite jacket (after all, it tastes a lot like the previous night’s buttered popcorn you shared together on movie night), you won’t mind.  You also won’t mind the late night trip to the emergency vet on the eve of your all last exam when you are already sickeningly sleep-deprived from a hellish week.  You will be even more thrilled when the cost of x-rays to discover the zipper, the surgery to remove the zipper and all of the after-care and medications adds up to $2,000.  You will laugh at your zany pup as you write that rubber check and you will ask for the remnants of the zipper as a keepsake memory (for her puppy-book) of the whole darn thing. Oh the joy!

Moving anywhere, even a block over, will be your favorite life challenge for the next 15 years (or until you buy a house).  Trying to find a rental in any town, but especially a Western mountain town over-flowing with dogs, where pet-friendly rental housing is scarce, is daunting.  But, you’re the kind of person who will only move if the dog can move with you even if this requires you to remain living with your ex who is dating someone else (under the same roof) and is making your existence utterly miserable.

So, you’re ready to put some major restrictions on your life.  Come on, you’re in your early twenties, an adult, out on your own.  You can handle it.  You are emotionally and financially stable and you fully understand the level of commitment a dog takes.  Good for you.  Now, in your spare time find and adopt a shelter-dog, spay or neuter your new pup, start a relationship with a local veterinarian and license him/her. And remember, a 50-minute lecture is too long to leave your dog tied up outside and if you think otherwise you need to review your decision again.

Finally, to assist you in fighting the temptation, may I suggest volunteering at your local shelter.  Take a homeless dog for a hike. Give a dog in-need some much deserved attention, promote their well-being in transition and then return them to the kind folks working hard to find him/her a new home.  Perhaps this will quell your desire to be with a dog and you can feel good about not taking on any burden.  While you are at it, however, a good friend of mine (a much wiser woman) fought the dog urge through the recitation of the following mantra when faced with the addicting, sweet, sweet, wonderful scent of puppy breathe:

“All puppies are cute. I want to go to Africa.”

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