Saturday, August 7, 2010

A boy's best friend


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.

13 comments:

T Daley said...

I am with Noelle.... We had to deal with this a while ago… in fact I think while we lived kind of by you  But as luck would have it Tyler is VERY allergic …. BUMMER! However, I would consider this, when getting a dog in a neighborhood, go for small (not toy or pocket they just break with kids and that’s NO good) but not too fragile. Here is my reasoning…. The smaller the dog the smaller the poop and the bark :) BTW~ I think your kids are adorable!

The Allreds said...

You are the world's best pet sitters! Dogs are WAY more fun than fish, hugh!?!? Our kids are still in the begging stage too. I'm still leaning to getting another parakeet : )

cold cocoa said...

But look at your backyard! You have acres with the (youknowwhat) in your backyard! I won't say what it is because I don't want a psycho tracking you down like the ones that put their chinese proverbs on my food blog so now I have to moderate comments because who knows what really those comments mean.
Anyway, you guys should be cool 'rents and let your kids have at it.

Nicole said...

You know my feelings on dogs or pets of any kind. I say keep it to taking care of the neighbors pets. That's the best way...the dog lives and does it's business on someone else's property. Plus, you don't have the constant obligation of taking care of a pet.

Matt and Cristina said...

Sometimes I feel like we're the only ones in the neighborhood without a dog... glad to know there are others holding out!

TisforTonya said...

you just can't tie your dog to old logs these days without being reported for cruelty either... I'm all for vicarious pet ownership!

stephanie said...

I tried the dog thing once. It is like having another kid only you don't love that kid. (Dog lovers better not send me hate mail for this response) I can admire dogs that belong to someone else and even say "oh how cute" and I actually mean it. I just don't want one of my own.
I love that Noelle is on top of the garbage can.

LC said...

So the discussion is on the table, huh? That's already taking it way too far.
It is kinda nice though,to have a dog that you can tell all your problems too when you're a kid.

big8smiley said...

Your boys SO NEED a dog!!! I'll tell you what, you can borrow Max while we are on your cruise so you can make up your mind for sure. :)

I really love your picture of Noelle on the garbage can. I'm glad she made it through the babysitting experience!

Sandra said...

I'm laughing...I like how you changed the dog's name yet have taken liberties to post his picture...well, it' snot like he can read anyway, right! haha

hOLLIANN said...

Babysit my dogs...You will thank me for taking the idea off the table!

jaredandgina said...

I loved having dogs growing up and always thought I would want one now. Maybe when we are done having kids and they are all older.
I still can't believe how big all your kids are!! It seems like just yesterday Issak was just a baby!

Sharolyn Gabbitas said...

Aww. So cute. I love the pictures. Bring your kids over and I will tell them all how much I love dogs and get them all hyped up for you. If I could have 5 more I would... But then I'd need dogsitters often and would be calling you!!