Exhibit A: precocious eleven-year-old girl who knows what she wants in life:
Exhibit B: The Christmas list:
Exhibit C: My personal philosophy on dogs:
She's too old for toys, too picky to let me choose her clothes, and surely would be highly disappointed in only a bathrobe and fuzzy slippers as her only presents. I'm at a total loss.
Any words of wisdom for a poor confused mother would be greatly appreciated....
Just say no! We had a dog when Nolan was about 7; Rocky lasted exactly 24 hours before he was back at the pound after biting Nolan and Ryan. It was a terrible experience all the way around that ended with Nolan crying, 'You hate me, you hate my dog!' I am totally with you on the anti-dog philosophy. Stay strong! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI actually like dogs. But every time I think about getting one I remember all of the times I have seen people in the act of picking up a warm/steamy pile of doggie doo off the ground. Can you imagine the feeling in your hand of a warm, stinky pile of doggie doo?
ReplyDeleteHope that helps your decision making process.
By the way, it might have helped your cause to post a picture of an ugly, mean looking dog. The photo of the puppy you put up is so cute. Who would not want one of those?
ReplyDeleteNo. No. No. And no some more.
ReplyDeleteDon't do it!!!! You have many things to take care of already, that require you to feed them, and take care of them. Really do you need something that requires you to also PICK UP IT'T POO?
I don't care what anyone says...HER dog will be YOUR headache.
Don't do it!!!!!!
phew. I think I have strong feelings about this...especially since this is also on ALL my kids lists as well.
I have some suggestions for gifts...drop me a line if you are interested.
Be strong. Keep the faith. Remember who you are.
Do not give in. Pets tie you down. You could not even go to Richmond without worrying about what to do with the dog. And what about dog hair everywhere. Yuck!
ReplyDeleteSorry I have no idea about any other gifts to get her.
I agree with everyone else that you should not give in. (Sorry Cam.)
ReplyDeleteI personally don't think you need any reason besides the poo to veto this idea. You're either going to be picking it up several times a day (YUCK!) or will have a yard (and kids shoes) covered in it (DOUBLE YUCK!).
But I think a deal breaker is the fact that you'll have to arrange your schedules around the dog and this will definitely make your hectic life more complicated.
Plus, isn't Glen allergic?
I am so with you on the NO dog rule. Tom and I both agree NO pets in this house! Kids are more than enough for us! I also agree with Pete's comments, no gross poo picking up. YUCK!
ReplyDeleteA possible gift idea would be gift cards such as itunes, a clothing store, etc. where she could pick out her own clothes, music or whatever.
ReplyDeletemom
Good grief! 8 comments...all anti-dog. Imagine!
ReplyDeleteWhat is it with our family? Of course most of you (my children) are too young to remember the little dog that we had in Vadnais Heights-who scratched and/or bit the two little neighbor girls-"Jessifer and Jennica". Stinking dog was hyper and we finally had to give him away.
Suppose you could always get a cat, but same principles apply.
Nevertheless and not withstanding all the foregoing, I shall have to stand as an advocate for my sweet oldest granddaughter and say "Go ahead, buy the poor girl a cute little puppie!" Maybe a German Shepherd or a Pit Bull. You know, something loveable.
Besides how can you deny anything to that adorable face?
Love, Grandpa
Get a Wii, or a Webkinz (plenty of "dogs" to choose from). Who needs interaction with a warm, living thing (or its poo)?
ReplyDeleteGet a fish if you don't have one already. My kids have been bugging me this year for a dog, but since we travel to the cities a lot, what am I supposed to do with the dog? We told them we will start out slowly and see how well they take care of their pets. A goldfish is our slow attempt at pethood.
ReplyDeleteHaving a dog for a few days before taking it back is way worse than not having one at all. Those are words to live by.
ReplyDeleteI always use the "but the puppy would be so sad if you took him away from his mom. Wouldn't you be sad if someone came and took you away from us? I just don't have the heart to do something like that." It's worked so far. If she has a Nintendo DS, they have Nintendogs which is a cute little game where they can take care of, train, and love their own virtual pet. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteHey Anonymous. Please don't go casting stones about something you know nothing about.
ReplyDeleteWe actually had the dog for almost six months and were under threat of being sued by the neighbor girls parents.
Fortunately, we had some friends who lived on a farm about 20 miles away who were more than happy to have another dog.
Some words to ponder as you sit in judgement.
I had no idea what a firestorm this post would cause. Just for the record we really have NO intention on getting a dog for Christmas (or anytime soon for that matter). Since I'm the only anti-dog one in the family, but I would be the one stuck taking care of it I figure my vote overrides everyone else's.
ReplyDeleteJust remember, you could train the dog to poop in other people's yard, just like my neighbors did in Andover.
ReplyDeleteMatt-our neighbors here in Cali just picked up that same great idea. Too bad you will NEVER ever find me picking up after their dog and if I catch them letting their dog do his duty in our yard again, they will be wishing they picked another neighbor's yard to leave the nasty mess in! Arghhh!
ReplyDelete