Our neighbors went on vacation. And while away they asked us to take care of their dog, *Skip. (Being as I don't have their permission to post about their dog I feel I must change his/her name to protect his/her identity. I'm a responsible blogger that way). Anyhoo, it's been great for all involved. Skip stays in his yard (OK, yes, Skip is a male--this his/her stuff was going to drive me nuts) and keeps his bodily waste on his side of the fence while my boys get to play with him and take care of him and feel the love all boys should have for doggies.
As you can see in the above picture Ethan has a healthy respect for him. He prefers to admire Skip through a fence or at least 15 feet away. And Noelle knows that you need to always be out of jumping reach of animals. Here she is perched on our garbage while the boys and Skip were in the garage waiting out a thunderstorm.
But alas, this fun 'chore' has come with some follow up begging of "When are we going to get a dog of our own?" And I have to realize that taking care of the neighbors' dog once a year isn't going to cut it.
Hub and I grew up with dogs and have very fond memories of them. But we both didn't grow up in suburbia like we do now. Our dogs had room to run and relieve themselves and bark away without many people even noticing. So it's hard to transfer that childhood memory of doggy ownership into the reality of our current living situation. However, considering the amount of dogs in my neighborhood, it really must not be that hard.
Anyway, the idea is definitely on the table. And one day it may happen. But for now I am quite content with letting the neighbors go on vacation as much as they want so my boys can steal a little bit of Skip's love.
