My wife and I were used to since around 2000 of having two dogs. The first dogs we got were a jack Russell Corgi mix and we had some trouble with the Jack Russell part of her because this is a completely outdoor dog. (it's the dog tearing up the couch in the add a few years ago) because it is a completely outdoor dog not really bred for anything but running alongside of horses (that they get along with usually) and for hunting and retrieval of things like birds and small animals people might hunt (if they are trained for it). But, we loved the corgi part of this dog and so got a Pembroke Corgi in the early 2000s for our daughter who was then about 6 or 7 years old and we wanted to teach her responsibility by helping take care of her dog. Then we got an Australian Shepard long hair German Shepard Mix who was likely the smartest dog I ever met bar none. We got him at about 17months and he was already well trained from the SPCA. We got the corgi-Jack Russell mix from a friend of my wife's and she was at least 5 to 10 years old when we got her.
But, a raccoon got the Jack Russell corgi but the Jack Russell side of her was also feisty and she bloodied the raccoon as well. But, she passed away a month later in an animal hospital from kidney failure when the vet told us we needed to put her to sleep so we sat and held her as she drifted away.
This prepared us for 15 years later when first we lost our Australian Shepard Long Hair German Shepard when he was about 16 years old. Then we got a rescue yellow lab who was pretty old because he was bonded with our corgi from a dog sitter that would take care of her when we traveled. So, now we were back up to two dogs that liked each other. Then the Corgi faded at about 15 years old and couldn't see or walk anymore and we decided and the vet decided it was time to put her to sleep which we did while holding her and saying goodbye.
The reason I wrote all this is that you have at most 10 to 20 years maximum with whatever dog you adopt. So, I wanted to show you that if you commit to a dog in your family you also eventually have to watch that dog die too.
However, at this time (if you can afford to feed a pet) having a pet is a life saving thing. Why?
Because if my wife and I hadn't adopted a Blue Merle Corgi puppy this would have been horrendous to go through this Coronavirus thing for us. But, because we adopted this puppy about a month or so before the shut down here in California it made all the difference to us.
Why?
Because out kids mostly have their own lives and we have 2 grandchildren now so this puppy has brought a lot of joy into our lives. I didn't used to smile that much but now I do every day. I smile many times because a puppy is pretty unpredictable. It is the unpredictableness of the puppy that brings joy and sometimes pain to our lives. Either way it is very stimulating to have something this young and playful (in both good and bad ways in our lives now). So, it is sort of like having to raise another child when you adopt a puppy. It is a responsibility but also a lot of fun at the same time.
It needs to be fed. You need to clean up poop and pee. You need to find ways to protect your furniture and maybe keep her in the kitchen so the whole house isn't a mess (a chewed up mess). But, it suits us because I have been a parent since 1974 ongoing and my wife has been a parent since 1996 ongoing. So, between us we have about 60 years of raising kids of one age or another. Now my oldest biological child is going to be 46 soon and my oldest step son will be 49 this year and his sister will be 47 this year too and my oldest biological daughter is now 31 and my youngest biological daughter is now 24. So, we have this span of about 25 years between them all and in addition to this I have another adopted daughter who is 35 and has made us grandparents too.
But, they all live in Oregon or San Diego or Europe now so they are far away from us in this coronavirus thing. Before we could easily hop on a plane anytime we wanted to see them but now it isn't practical for awhile to do this. Even our housekeeper isn't practical for us to see in our home because I'm almost 72 and my wife is almost 65. But, we did talk to her outside her home at a 6 foot distance and we talked to her kids too recently at a 6 foot distance too.
So, the point is especially if you are alone it's good to have a pet so at least you can talk to your pet and not feel weird about it.
If you are a family it gives you someone to play with and take care of and take walks with. in other words you are forced by your pet to get exercise so your pet doesn't drive you crazy by being shut in all the time.
So, by getting out once or more each day you are healthier on all levels and so is your pet because of you taking care of each other because the dog is a part of your pack and will love you unconditionally no matter what you do. Because that's how dogs are. They love their pack, their family.
Note: The hardest loss was likely our Yellow Lab who was 95 pounds and sort of like an athlete. He just loved to chase tennis balls and would do this all day if you let him. I would throw a tennis ball up a forest trail that was a fire road and he could chase this for hours if I let him. I bought a Chuck-it which is a plastic throwing stick that helps throw the ball a long distance without hurting your arm (especially if you are over 50 years old). The snap of throwing a ball a long distance hurts more when you are older so a chuck-it tennis ball throwing stick is very helpful.
But, I was having some health problems and was being nursed back to health in Portland by my son so we had friends sitting our dog and house because our corgi had already passed away. Then we got some news that the Yellow Lab was having problems and we had our friends take the dog to the vet. the vet said that what was wrong was going to be eventually fatal. Because it was cancer of the spleen and the spleen had exploded and the cancer was spreading all over his body through his blood stream now. I told the vet I couldn't care for him because I was having my own near death experience. So, even though he might have lived 6 months to a year with the cancer I had no choice but to have him put to sleep without saying goodbye because I had driven to Mt. Shasta but couldn't get home in time. My wife and daughters were in England and Scotland and Ireland too so this was difficult for us all to have a dog of ours put to sleep without being able to say goodbye.
The point is a dog is wonderful but eventually even if you are a loving responsible family you are going to have to say goodbye to your all best friends eventually.
By God's Grace
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