For Rent!

I’ve got something to say…

 

We were reading the news and came upon this little ditty:

“A Dog for a Day?”

I’m not sure how I feel about renting out dogs for those not willing to commit to ownership. While I loved all of those wonderful people at the shelter I came from and I love all of the friends who stop by and visit us, here in my forever home, I’m not sure I would like going to “visit” a friend, get used to it, and then have to go “home” to a kennel situation. I mean, my crate is my special place and, whoa, there’s nothin’ like rollin’ around in Miss Natalie’s bed and depositing two tons of hair. It’s worth it if only to watch her reaction when she catches me doing it. Priceless!

Within the depth of the comments from that article, many people wonder, “What’s next? Renting out your kids?” Miss Natalie says, (in jest, of course) that she’s willing to rent out our boys (for free!) if only to allow those thinking of having children or having unprotected, unsafe, and irresponsible sex, the opportunity to rethink their actions. I know, I know; that may sound crazy but to me, it’s pure logic. Think before you act may seem like common sense. Evidently, it’s not so common.

I mean, really, something as cute as this…

… Is only cute until it starts poopin’ n’ peein’ all over the carpet. Been there; done that.

According to the article, the service life of one of these dogs is seven years. That’s 49 dog years. By the way, that’s Miss Natalie’s age (although she’s in denial and insists she’s only 36.) What happens to them after that? Do they get adopted? How will they handle life in a forever home after such an extreme nomadic lifestyle? Will they miss one of their renters so much that they develop some strange, aberrational-type of separation anxiety? Will they have to go on doggy-downers just to deal with their hyper-active-sense-of-loss? Crazy stuff.

Some argue that these pets would have been “destroyed” (Destroyed!! What?!) anyway ‘cause they (supposedly) come from shelters. I don’t even know what to say about that ‘cause I’m in denial about Miss Natalie’s age AND euphemism, um, utopia, uh, euthanasia. Or whatever. (Man, these three syllable words are tough on a simple dog.)

Anyway, have you seen this cutie? Available at Albuquerque Animal Services-Westside facility. They say his name is “Mitch” which makes me want to sing, “Trailer, for sale or rent. Rooms to let… fifty cents. No phone, no pool, no pets…” Hey… Wait a minute!

Nevermind.

Love,

Lulu

In the News

I watch Animal Planet.

There; I’ve said it.

In fact, I’m an Animal Planet junky. My peeps watch those animal cop shows and it breaks my heart to see so many “pets” neglected, hurt, tortured, and all that stuff. At the same time, I can’t tear my doggy-eyes away. I’m always hoping for happy endings. That’s not always the case.

I’ve noticed that there are lots and lots of abandoned/neglected horses. It seems that people got their horses as status symbols of their newfound wealth and, once the markets started to crash and the home loan industry’s bubble began to burst, horses were the first things to go. We watch Houston Animal Cops and there are always at least one or two segments about abandoned horses. This is just terrible! You know, of course, that horses are just like big dogs but with much bigger piles of poop! I hate seeing the starved, rib-exposed, sway-back, open sore, standing in rain-soaked-muck horsies! Luckily, almost all of them are seized, given veterinary attention, and eventually put up for adoption. Some, however, don’t make it and it makes me so sad.

On a happier note: I’m going for a car ride today to look for a suitable place for my person, S, to photograph someone’s graduation pictures. My job is to protect her from harm. Mojo is not very happy about this and will probably cry and carry on until we get home. He’s so co-dependent!

Sometimes us girls just need to have some alone, girl-space.

Miss Natalie was talking about a news article she read this morning about people putting their animals in the pound ’cause they couldn’t afford to pay for them anymore. I was in the pound once. That’s where I first met Miss Natalie. Bet you didn’t know that about me, huh? Yeah, seriously; I was at the Humane Society Calumet Area, Inc. (in Munster, Indiana) when I was just two months old. A family adopted me but got mad when I chewed on their couch and returned me a month later. The truth of it was that I hadn’t chewed on the couch but they thought I might so they decided we weren’t a good fit. So, it was back to the cages for me. Miss Natalie saw me but, at first, didn’t want a puppy. The people at the shelter told her that dogs that are returned usually have less of a chance of being adopted a second time. Well, I did my darndest to be charming, sweet, and playful ’cause I wanted OUT!

I was four months old and had been in cages for more than half of my life. Miss Natalie rescued me and the first thing she did was to take me to PetSmart. Man, was that cool!

This is me, home at last, on my first day with Miss Natalie:

 

Then, after a couple of months of just the two of us, she took me on my first road trip and I got to meet my boys. I liked them okay but Miss Natalie and S left me with them so they could have a little “alone” time. That’s when I really got a good idea of what living with kids was going to be like. We’ve all grown up quite a bit since then. I haven’t been locked in a room, closet, or under the stairs for over four years. It was touch and go for a while but we finally all got used to each other.

My first visit with the boys… outside the door and really, really wanting to go into that room ’cause D-Man was tormenting me with the camera.  This was very early in the morning: 

This is what happens when you live with little boys:

They lock you under the stairs while playing “Spaceship.”

Yep; we’ve come a long way, baby!

Speaking of babies… next time I’ll have to tell you about the first time I met Mojo.

Stay tuned!

Love,

Lulu