8/11/09

Dog tired

I have owned a black lab-mutt mix since I entered college. He is 5 now and weighs maybe 50 pounds. He is well-mannered, allows Little Berry to pummel him without the slightest complaint. He turns his head when she shoves her crackers at him, and follows commands perfectly. I can tell him to leave a room and he will, to load into the car, sit, down, hop onto the tub: he is easier to bathe than the baby. But.
He is unhappy in this cramped apartment, his ears perk up only when we go out and it seems unjust to force this life upon him even though he means so much here to us. As sad as it makes me and will really be tough on the babe, I know he has spent enough time cooped up in the city..I think it's time to let him not be mine anymore just because it means he will have room to stretch his legs, he can go out and poop whenever he pleases, he can chase squirrels and bears and deer and raccoons and who knows what away at night, all night.
So we are beginning a journey of being non-pet owners, something I haven't been in a long long time.