I am a huge fan of puppies. I don’t know anyone who isn’t.
Their cute floppy ears, and paws and tails that are too big for their bodies are sometimes too adorable. The way they roll around and love unconditionally is the purest in puppies.
National puppy day flew across social media pages on Friday. Everybody and their dog was posting puppy pictures.
I wanted to join in too, but I couldn’t. I don’t have any puppy pictures of our dog Jake. We adopted him when he was approximately one year old (maybe a little younger, based off his maturity).
I have one picture of him, looking quite small, but he was by no means a puppy. This picture is iconic in my photo album, because it is the day we learned about one of the things Jake loves to do: hold hands.
There he is, scrawny and wily, gazing out the front window of our home, holding hands with my boyfriend. Little did I know, we would hold hands for the rest of our lives.
Jake is turning four this year, and I’m thinking about adopting another young pup while he is still super active, but I know the struggles of bringing an adopted dog into the home all too well.
When we brought Jake home, we were aware of his dislike for other canines, but we didn’t know that he would bark all night at his reflection in the mirror. We didn’t know that the sound of a clicking pen would make him run and hide. We didn’t know that he was afraid of houseflies and other flying bugs.
We have worked with him for years to become the good dog he is today. He still has his fears, which we work with, but he has come leaps and bounds in his interactions with other four legged creatures.
Even though some of the times were really tough, I will forever and always promote adopting pets, rather than buying them from breeders or stores.
Honestly, all of the bad things are just habits and fears that he developed before we brought him into our loving home and made him a part of our family.
I wouldn’t trade our bed-hogging, blues-singing, snowball-chasing, toy-stealing pooch for anything in the world.
Although he came with his quirks, he also came with his love for playing in the water, his incredible ability to squeeze himself into the smallest available space on our couch, the cutest way he buries his head into you while you give him a hug, and many, many more things.
Around this time of year, it is increasingly common for people to buy bunnies, just in time to give the cute furry creatures to children for Easter.
What a lot of people don’t understand is that any animal you bring into your home deserves a lot of love and attention, as well as space to move around. Bunnies can’t live in a small cage in the average child’s bedroom. They need room to sleep, eat, and run.
So think about it before you decide to bring an animal into your home. If you let them, they can quickly become a part of your family. They need constant attention, and a lot of the time, it can feel like having another child around.
I know my dog really is my fur family.
