Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Dog vs. No Dog

Top 13 Reasons the Rodriguez Family Should NOT Get a Dog
(in no particular order)

  1. We already have a cat. An old, finicky, semi-diabetic, hairball producing, whiny, mentally-challenged cat.
  2. Vet bills.
  3. Dogs - high maintenance.
  4. Cost of pet food.
  5. Big dog appetite. (see #4 above)
  6. Poop in my yard.
  7. Who is going to walk the dog? Really. We all know who. Oh, sure, the sweet-faced, pleading children will promise to do this. But we know how this works, don't we?
  8. Dogs - not self-cleaning
  9. The fence needs mending.
  10. Who is going to feed the dog? (see #7 above)
  11. Dog smell. (see #8 above)
  12. Dogs kisses.
  13. Dog smell. (What? This has been mentioned already? It bears repeating.)
Top 1 Reason TO get a dog


Who could resist that?

What you can't tell from the picture is how the dog is actually leaning up against her, practically pinning her to the van, having found an eager dispenser of love and determining not to let it go. You see the smile? The big, goofy, blissful smile that says, "How have I been living without this big teddy-bear-in-a-Rottweiler's-body of a dog?!"

A little background on the above photo. This past weekend we joined some friends on a short drive to Wimberley, Texas where they keep their daughter's horse. On the property were 2 big dogs (the one pictured and another sweet, if not a little skittish, dog). When I first saw the dogs, I feared I would have to carry my 7-year-old because she would certainly be frightened. Does that girl look frightened? Or in love? Uh-huh. Love.

I am determined not to give in to this romantic notion just yet. The voice of reason still prevails in our house. The old man cat still lives.

But ... just look at that smile!

3 comments:

K. Titus Rodriguez said...

All very good points as to why not.

However, I believe the shelf life of this particular smile could be time-sensitive and thereby like so many other items on the planet, in the endangered category. Undoubtedly, it too could quietly slip into non-existence never to be seen again. Only a phantom to be gazed upon in this photo.

What a great human tragedy.

Hannah said...

Ok, y'all have the SAME discussions we do!
You totally need to take out from the library the audiobook "Marley: A Dog like No Other." Literally, we laughed, we cried, it was better than CATS!
(We finally returned it, so go online and reserve!)
It will probably make your kids want a dog and you and Titus say, "what were we THINKING!?

Vanessa said...

Hmmm, every kid needs a dog they say. BUT, you WILL be the one to walk it, clean up after it, feed it, wash it, etc. That's what all moms say.