Recently I had a chance to dog-sit a friend's dog. His name is Ho-Dol. A family dog of this friend... since the dog's father. So, he's a precious being to this friend who was going to be gone for more than a month for the first time!
Kathy and I always liked this dog and we had been thinking about possibly getting a dog ourselves. So, yea, what a great chance to "test it out".
Well, to say the conclusion first, We are NOT getting a dog. Ho-Dol was such a good dog, very well trained. But, still, taking care of another live being is not as easy and cute as it seems. You need to be responsible, yes, but it also requires a lot of love. I could see how one can do that if the dog was born into your family (like the case with my friend the dog-owner), but when it is thrown at you suddenly things change in your life and you have to adjust to it. Here is what I mean...
This dog LOVES coming into your bedroom and get into the bed with you. He's always clean so it's ok. But, just having another being in your room where it used to be just you and your spouse got some getting used to. Actually, we never got used to it and we had to train him to not come into the room (after several nights of sleeplessness for training him...). In the end, one good lesson from this unexpected involvement of another live being in my life... MY GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED IN MY LIFE AND I NEED TO BE VERY SENSITIVELY AWARE OF HIS EXISTENCE.
Well, the dog went home after about two months of hanging out with us. We got used to him. I enjoyed playing with him. Giving him his favorite treats. Going to the park and running with him. Man, he's fast! And we missed him for few days after he left. But, in the end, we were glad we didn't have to take care of him forever. We wouldn't have been a good caretaker for him. We already have many people in our lives that we try our best to serve with God's love and another dog is not what we need at this time. However, a BABY? Taking care of this dog made us realize we are becoming more ready for having a baby. Some of you know what I mean...
