No, I’m not going to get a dog, but I must say this Dalmatian on the beach yesterday brought back happy memories. She was liver-spotted, the same color as the first Dalmatian we had when I was about four years old. I remember the day my dad came home with Amber. Although we never knew her early childhood history, we concluded that she was probably abused as a puppy because she cowered whenever we raised an arm above her head, and she was shy with everyone but the family.
Amber went on to live a full life, producing two litters of pups. One of her offspring was Speck, our family pet all through my growing up and even when I went to college. I always considered him my dog and I guess he was because I was the one who roamed about the woods with him and tolerate him sleeping on my bed.
All those memories are just fine as memories, but as I said, I don’t want a dog. Just talking with the owner of this very appealing Dalmatian reminded me that owning a dog is not simple. Accompanying a puppy through adolescence to adulthood is complex, and by that I mean time consuming, expensive, frustrating and more. (Oh, I know, there are many joys and rewards.)
But putting the simplicity/complexity issue aside, having a dog would detract from my solitude. A dog is a companion, and believe me, I’m all in favor of companions. But when you walk the beach with a companion, you are not walking in solitude. And you know how it goes--of course you’d take the dog with you every day. That’s part of what owning a dog is all about.
Amber went on to live a full life, producing two litters of pups. One of her offspring was Speck, our family pet all through my growing up and even when I went to college. I always considered him my dog and I guess he was because I was the one who roamed about the woods with him and tolerate him sleeping on my bed.
All those memories are just fine as memories, but as I said, I don’t want a dog. Just talking with the owner of this very appealing Dalmatian reminded me that owning a dog is not simple. Accompanying a puppy through adolescence to adulthood is complex, and by that I mean time consuming, expensive, frustrating and more. (Oh, I know, there are many joys and rewards.)
But putting the simplicity/complexity issue aside, having a dog would detract from my solitude. A dog is a companion, and believe me, I’m all in favor of companions. But when you walk the beach with a companion, you are not walking in solitude. And you know how it goes--of course you’d take the dog with you every day. That’s part of what owning a dog is all about.