Don'ts for Mothers, 2013 #8- I'll Wager Her Parents Are More Pure Than Yours

Don'ts for Mothers, 2013 #8- I'll Wager Her Parents Are More Pure Than Yours

Don't neglect your pet just because you had a child. 

 

A friend who is pregnant told me today that when she announced her future parenthood to an acquaintance, the first thing the acquaintance said was, "You're gonna hate your dogs." 

Now, I've heard versions of this over and over, but never stated so harshly. Everyone told me I'd feel differently about my dog after Jude was born, that I'd do less with her, that she'd be miserable, that I'd ignore her.

Let me tell you about Maddy's day.

Maddy woke up with her pack, in the center of the bed with Kevin and I both contorted ourselves so she could fit. She followed me downstairs at about 6 AM so she could watch me do yoga. (By watch I mean lean into me when I was in downward dog, begging for a butt scratch.) She poked around the yard for awhile, wolfed down her breakfast and followed me back upstairs to watch me feed the baby while she took up most of the bed again. 

Tater gave her a long, sorrowful goodbye, giving Jude and I a mere peck in comparison. Maddy took a snooze on her own personal couch (see image above) and waited by the window for her friends Haylie and Tim. She was thrilled to take a car ride to the dog park to play with her friends Hamilton and Tetley. (By "play", of course, I mean watch the other dogs play while hovering near me and the baby... drooling as always). She mudded up my backseat on our way home.

By 11AM, toothbrush (generic Greenie) in her belly, Maddy was back on her comfy couch until I took her to see Tater at work at about 2PM. She loved getting another ride and seeing her buds at station 21. It was about the most exciting moment of her life when they got a call and the alarms went off.  She also got to see Abagail, a friend of the little person variety (her favorite). We took a walk there, enough laps that I had to drag her through the last one.

I ran some errands while she lounged in the car. She sniffed some horsies, then came home to a sun spot on the living room floor, which she moved towards as it swept across the room. She moved back to her couch when the sun went away and stayed there until dinner time. After dinner, she received her second brushing of the day.

It's 6PM now and I'd venture to say Maddy is approximately 2 hours away from heading up to bed after the best day ever. It's not so bad to be a dog in the House of Raftery.