I am a firm believer that children should grow up with pets. Real pets can be held and stroked. (Fish are not real pets, they are room accessories.) I'm talking about dogs, cats, gerbils, rabbits, and possibly birds. And, if you are really strange, rats and reptiles. Caring for a pet teaches a person to take responsibility, act humanely, budget accordingly, and smile occasionally. I encourage anyone looking for a pet to visit the local animal shelter first. Please understand though you are adding a family member, not buying a toy that can be left in the corner and ignored when the novelty wears off. Adopting a pet requires a lot of thought and serious commitment of several years.
Most of my dogs were adopted from shelters. But picking the right dog from a shelter can be tricky. The last time we adopted a dog, my husband and I spent some time on-line looking at several photos of dogs waiting to be sprung from the Animal Control shelter. At least a dozen dogs were labeled as "Lab" or "part Lab" which was a joke. Judging from their massive chests and square heads each and every one of those dogs was a "Pit Bull" or "part Pit Bull." Not the dog for me.
I was open to adopting an adult dog or a special needs dog, but we finally decided on a puppy. (Puppies usually don't come with excess emotional baggage or ingrained bad habits). We saw a cute little fella' on the Internet and headed to the shelter for a meet and greet. When we met this puppy it just didn't react to us the way we would have liked. He seemed lethargic and uninterested in us. His sister however was a real charmer! We played with the puppy, and watched the puppy, and took a walk and talked about the puppy, all the while trying to
visualize what our lives would be like with our new bundle of joy. They knew for sure that her mother was a black Lab but didn't know what the father was. Judging from her looks and temperament, we believed she was part Lab. And how could we resist those beautiful brown eyes?
In the end we brought her home and named her Oreo. She is black and white, has a black head with a white stripe going up her long javelin-like nose. She has long spotted legs and a tail that curls up over itself. For the longest time we thought she was part Border Collie. Her herding instincts are incredible. But not long ago I found a description of her on the Web that fit her to a tee. It turns out she is a Canaan Dog. You know, like land of Canaan and Canaanites (Sheesh! read your Bible!) Here is a great link if you are interested in more: www.itb.it/canaan/icdca/History/history.html
So go ahead and visit your local shelter if your are considering adopting a pet. Just remember what Forrest Gump's mom said about a box of chocolates. The difference is, chocolates don't poop on your carpet!
