Please don’t ever accuse me of treating my dog like one of my children because I often treat my dog better than my children. I have become one of those crazy women who obsess over the happiness of an animal. We are DogMa’s. And you know who you are.
My kids could mope around the house all day with pouted lips and watery eyes and my response is usually in the neighborhood of “you have a great life, get over whatever crawled up your little tushie and go play!” But if the dog looks sad? Fuggedaboutit.
This is what I was faced with last week as we started packing for vacation:
“What’s wrong Mo? Are you okay sweet pea? Here let me give you some belly rubs. Awwww, is that better? How about a treat? Good dog. Hey, hon, come look at Mo! I think she is sad. Do you think she is sad? Did you yell at her? Do you think she knows we are going away in a few days? She must know because the suitcases are out. It’s okay Mo! We’ll be back in no time. Hon, I think we have to find an alternative to our pet sitting service because I think she is lonely. Maybe the pet sitter will sleep over so the dog has someone to cuddle with at night before bed. It costs and extra $200 but I think it will make her happy. Is that Noah or Chase screaming upstairs? Mo, are you okay puppy?”
It is almost too easy to love a dog more than a person for the simple reason that they are always happy to see you and never talk back. I have it bad for my dog which is why the Pet Resort dog kennel, complete with Spa Packages and bedtime tuck in’s, was not good enough for Mo when we went on vacation. We hired a personal babysitter.
It’s a dog’s life. And a pretty good one at that.
