As with all things in life, bad experiences shaped that opinion. I once stayed with a friend who had the lunacy to keep a Jack Russell terrier inside of a tiny one-bedroom apartment (who was not housebroken, mind you). Then a neighbor's dog killed a baby chicken that my mom and I were raising together.
Add that to all the times when I'd visit someone who would cheerfully say, "Oh don't worry he doesn't bite," as their dog, giving it's best Teddy Bruschi impression, would nearly take me down. Now you can see why dogs were not high up on my list. But recently, a friend of ours had to get rid of her dog, and my wife decided that we should take the animal in.
I wasn't too crazy about it (we had dogsitted for these dogs before), but hey, marriage is about sacrifice right? Bring on the dog.
Ironically, this oversized rat has grown on me. Pixie is becoming my buddy.
What is wrong with me?
It's actually been nice. I'll be at the computer, and she'll sit quietly in my lap. We go on walks twice a day. She's really well-behaved. It's just a nice feeling, and I can see why people love their dogs so much.
Ironically, I think God put this dog in my life to get me ready for our daughter, who has a street-release date of March 2. After all, raising a child is pretty much like owning a dog that eventually learns how to talk. The reason why I think that Pixie is good dad training is because my biggest fear when it comes to parenting is being too selfish.
I like to do things on my time. If I want to sit around and watch TV all day, I can do that right now (as long as my wife doesn't need me to do anything). When the child gets here, I won't have that opportunity anymore. I'll have to schedule time for feeding, cleaning, activities, etc. No more lazy Dustin!
Now that Pixie is here, I'm having to schedule that stuff now. I can't just be lazy all morning: I have to make sure that Pixie gets walked, fed and crated (kicking around idea of leaving her in kitchen) before going to work. I now have to care for another being besides myself and my wife.
While it's nowhere near the amount of work that a child will require, it seems like a nice way to ease into those responsibilities later on.
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