Morgan's Doctor Suess
Those of you have been here before are probably wondering what happened to Maggie's pictures. Unfortunately we had to place Maggie in a new home. She had always been a slightly dominant dog, but as she grew older, her dominance grew stronger and stronger. It was to the point that I was afraid for my daughter's safety, because Maggie would snap and growl and bite Seuss, or Shadow, or Jinx when she got into trouble. On several occasions she snapped and growled at me when I attemtped to discipline her, and on one occasion actually nipped at me. It was for these reasons that my husband and I made the difficult decision to find Maggie a new home where she would be happier. As it turned out, a gentleman living not too far from us had contacted me earlier about a dog we had on the rescue list that had obedience problems. I called him and told him about the problems we were having with Maggie and told him my husband and I thought it would be best if she were in a home with no other dogs, so she would not feel the need to compete for everything. (Maggie was always terribly jealous of any attention that we gave to anyone but her.) And although Maggie had never harmed my daughter, I thought it best that she not go to a home with children, because of her dominance aggression. So, Mr. Dominick came to look at Maggie and they were perfect together! She cuddled up to him and begged him to pet her. She climbed in his lap and lavished him with doggie kisses! She responded well to him and listened when he spoke to her. (Maggie had always done better and responded better to my husband than to me.) So, with a heavy heart, holding back tears, I agreed that she would be better off with Mr. Dominick.
After they left, I fought back the tears until that night when we all went to bed, and there was no Maggie to snuggle up with. The next morning, there was no Maggie to let out of the crate, to feed, to take outside. It was the hardest thing I had ever done, choosing to give up a precious gift! Never in my life had I decided to give away an animal. A few years ago, my husband and I had to move in with his parents while our house was being built, and we could not take our dog with us. They had three dogs in the house already, and now six people. Bear barked when he was left outside, very loudly and for hours on end. There was no way we could take him with us. As heartbreaking as that was, I had no choice in the matter. I wanted him to stay, but he couldn't. This was totally different though. I had made the decision that Maggie needed to go. I cried every night for a week, and even now, it is painful to think about.
I had always had great difficulty understanding how people could give up their pets like they were nothing more than furniture, or used clothing that didn't fit anymore. After this experience though, I am even more amazed and befuddled. I am heartbroken for all of the animals whose lives have been turned upside down because they got too big, or too old, or their owners were bored with them, or just didn't want them anymore. I understand that there are legitimate reasons for giving up a pet, as I did. But those people who get a dog, and then give it away because their children go off to college and they don't want the burden anymore, or find out that the dog has a food allergy, skin condition, shedding problem, etc. . . .those are the ones that I cannot understand. Owning a dog is like marriage, "in sickness and in health, through good times and bad, for richer or poorer...til death do we part." Or at least for some people it is. It should be that way for everyone! If you are not willing to make that lifelong commitment, then don't bring the dog, cat, rabbit, ferret, bird or whatever other animal you saw that you just cannot resist, home! Leave it where it is, because somewhere there is someone who has a lifetime of love, selflessness, caring and devotion that they desperately want to give to just such a pet!
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