Well... bad news

[MariaM]

My mom and I had a horrible, horrible argument. My throath is now hoarse and I am having heavy breathing. To make a horrible long story short. my mom made it clear that no matter what I do, we are NOT getting a dog. I really feel feel there is no point in trying at all to get a dog because I know, deep inside, she will never say yes. Last spring I had my hopes up, but, we never did get the dog. I don't feel this year is going nto be any different, except me being even more upset. It seems like a REALLY long time till I am settled after university. I guess that's pretty much all I have to say.

[lute]

i'm sorry you can't get a dog.maybe you can volunteer at your local shelter and help some dogs in need there.

[Karen]

I'm sorry, but this, too will pass, I promise. I know you are disappointed.

A few years from now, it will seem like time has passed in the blink of an eye. Then you will have the rest of your life to have a dog, ar even multiple dogs.

Until then, as Lute suggested, there are alternative ways to get some canine contact. Make friends with dogs owners, maybe you can even get paid for walking dogs after school!

[MariaM]

I would love to walk dogs! The problem is though, in our small town of 380, not many people have doogs, and even less people would want me to walk their dog.

There is this one family that has a dog in a cage like thing outside. It is about 5 by 10 feet or so, but the dog is there ALL day and I feel so sorry for it! I have never once seen it out for a walk, but it seems like a mean dog, which may be why its locked up. The owner, I know, should definately do some serious training, but I have never seen him/her before and don't really know much about it.

There is one other dog that I know of that gets treated badly. It is the fluffiest, cutest german shepher (mix? it's quite fluffy). It seems to be groomed well, because it always looks so nice. But I have never once seen it out for a walk. (in my town, it's kind of like a neighborhood, so you see what's going on and stuff) Every time I go by the place the dog always, always runs out to you but then gets yanked back on the cord he's tied to. He'll bark and bark and I feel so sorry for him. His owners live in a shack-like house and I don't know how they afford to keep him. I think they get drunk alot and stuff =/

But back to my point, there really aren't any dogs to walk. I really want to volunteer at a shelter, but like I said before, it clashes with my rythmic gymnastic lessons (which I won't be taking next year and end in May) Also, it is 25 minutes away from where we live, so we don't go there much, and when we do, its for church, groceries or whatever. But I am going to look into it again, I just need to see if I can get the ride. :)

[sabies]

Will you go away to university? Maybe there will be a shelter nearby there. Since your mom does not want a dog it is better for you and for your future dog to wait until you are settled on your own. I got Sadie before I was really capable of supporting myself and that caused our early years together to be quite a struggle financially. You definitely don't want to get a dog and end up having to give it up because you can't find a dog-friendly home you can afford. Keep that in mind when you feel down.

It is hard to imagine now but, like Karen said, time will pass very quickly.

[dukedogsmom]

I know you must be really hurt right now. Do you have an SPCA or Humane Society somewhere nearby? I just now saw your second answer. Well, you're going to have to decide what's more important in your life: volunteering at the shelter or gymnastics. Lots of times, life is about choices. You might be much happier walking the dogs. At the SPCA here, you can be a volunteer to walk the dogs. I know it's hard to wait because, like I said, I wanted a horse all my life but couldn't get one until I was 18. Don't wish you life away, as my mom would say. The older you get, the faster the time goes. The years fly by. Try not to be too hard on your mom.

[MariaM]

Oh well DEFINATELY I'd rather volunteer at the SPCA but I'm not sure if I could find a way to go in every week. Thanks for understanding everyone, it makes me feel better!