Don’t worry, this is not sexual harassment. My house guest is a bona-fide furry friend who shows her warmth by pawing and licking. Here’s how she came to stay with us.
My kids have been pestering me for a pet. A dog to be more specific. Their sole mission is to break down the resistance (me) with persistent daily requests. Everyday, these requests become more pressing.
I tried to explain to them that it takes a lot of responsibility to own a dog. That a dog needs lots of love, time and energy to take care of it. Much like having another child except this one barks, and does not really grow up. Their schedule were already packed with academic pursuits and enrichment classes, I really didn’t think we could afford having a dog to distract us.
But the kids refuse to let up.
“We will love it mom.”
“We will play with it mom.”
“We will take good care of it, mom.”
“We will pick up its poop, mom, We PROMISE!”
“Please mom, PLEASE!! Can we have a dog?”
To be honest, I was running out of nice responses as to why we should not have a dog in the house. And the kids were wearing me down with their pleadings. My only hesitation was the cleaning up that I had to do and I am not really a poop-picker type of person.
So, when a friend and neighbour mentioned that she was looking for a place to park her dog for 2 weeks while her family goes on home-leave to Australia. I volunteered our home. I thought maybe a short bout of dog-sitting may help solve this dilemma between my children and me.
Once the words were out of my mouth, there was just no going back. The kids were over the moon with excitement!
And that was how Bailey, a female beagle came to stay with us for two weeks.
IHere are the kids with Bailey, our house guest.The kids adored their house guest. They rushed home from school to play with her, and were very diligent about feeding and taking her for walks. They even fought over who will pick up the poop from her walks!
They love going on walks with our furry house guest and that suited me just fine as it took them away from the digital screens.
The kids had as much fun exploring the neighbourhood as did our furry house guest. So it’s a win-win for everyone.
Getting Down To Business
But it wasn’t all fun and games. Bailey left a pool of urine in the balcony every afternoon which the kids had to clean up. And she had to be walked 3 to 5 times daily to allow her to do her business.
Our living room was under siege by Bailey’s fur and smell. We had to sweep our floor daily and open the windows to air out Bailey’s natural body odour. The cushions on our couches became Bailey’s playmates while we were away. And a few days into her stay with us, Bailey left a trail of brown spots on the floor. At first I thought the kids were drinking Milo and dripping them all over the floor. I found out later that they were innocent and the drops came from our furry female house guest. YIKES!!
Certain parts of the house like the rooms and the kitchen were off-limits to our house guest. These doors were kept shut at all times, and became Bailey-free zone.
By the third day, the kids were arguing about who should be the “poop-picker” for the day. Even my hubby who had previously sided with the kids, having had many dogs himself during his childhood, was complaining about having to wake up every morning at 6:30am to walk the dog.
The moral of this 2-week experiment?
The kids and adults came to a mutual agreement that we should wait a few more years to be dog-owners. It was also very apparent which kid of mine was the authentic dog-lover. Can you guess?
Yup!! It’s my warm and caring little girl. Despite a funny episode where Bailey ate two of her three sugar rolls – and these are gems for my girl – she still very diligently plays, walks, and bathes the dog. I will not be surprise if she eventually adopts a dog in her adult life.
Bailey will go home in a few days and we are all going to miss her pitter-pattering feet around the house. But I will be very happy to have clean floors and nice smelling cushions to sit on again.
If your kids still wants a dog, try other smaller pets like terrapins or hamsters. And if all else fails, think about getting one.
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