Shame on the People Who Say You Can't Love Your Dog Like a Child
I'm sure most people who have dogs and had them before having kids (or maybe even if you don't have kids) will have heard something like this from at least one person... "You'll realize you don't love your dogs as much as you think you do once you have kids," or "The love you have for your kids is so much different than loving a 'pet'". And when that happens, it feels like a slap in the face. How can someone else have the audacity to tell you that what you feel towards your fur baby is wrong?
And let me tell you this......
They're fucking WRONG, lol.
I can genuinely tell you, since I have three dogs and one son, that my love for my 1st fur baby, Hope, is the same love I have for my son, Greyson. Now, do I love the crap out of my other two dogs? YES. But it isn't on the same level of love I have for Hope. She is my soul dog, my everything, and she has been with me through every major point in my life so far.
I'll start from the beginning before I got Hope. So, my family dog growing up passed away when I was in grade 12, and it shook me. There were times in 1st year of university (a year later) that I would drunkenly cry over her pictures when I was back in my dorm room after a night out, lol. I obviously loved her so much, but she wasn't mine specifically, so I didn't exactly understand the type of love I could have for an animal. I went off to university for 1st year and wasn't allowed to have pets (understandable while living in dorms, lol). 2nd year of university, I moved back home and once again was not allowed to get a dog. So, before 3rd year started, I decided to move out. I couldn't continue not having a dog.
It was the summer of 2012, and I decided I had to have a non-shedding dog (now I have two high-shedding dogs, lol... funny how that happens), but also that the dog had to be large. This is when I came across Goldendoodles.
This was way before the current doodle craze, and there were only Goldendoodles and Labradoodles. This was also before we had any rescue groups in Saskatchewan, and I selfishly decided that my wants were more important than rescuing a dog. In hindsight, I'll never do this again (our 2nd and 3rd dogs are rescues).
I found two breeders in Saskatchewan, but no one had a female puppy available around August 2012. So, I did more research and found a reputable breeder in Alberta, and they were terrific. They wanted me to name her ASAP so they could start training her and familiarizing her with her name. She came fully vaccinated and microchipped, and they also kept her a couple of weeks longer so I could pick her up AFTER I moved into my new place. I drove 16hrs roundtrip to get her, and it was perfect. She became my little sidekick. I may or may not have spent more time with her than attending class, but that's a story for another time...
This was one of the first pictures I was sent of Hope. I was hoping for a black female doodle, and I lucked out with her. Hope was the runt of her litter, and apparently, black dogs are much harder to adopt than any of colour of dogs, so no one else wanted her. And she is truly perfect. She is my first baby; she will always be my baby, and it terrifies me to think of life without her.
Anywho, all in all, I can confidently tell you that if you TRULY love your animals, that won't change when you have kids. There will likely be many moments when you love your kids less than them. That isn't rude to say either; that's just the reality. You are allowed to have those "unconventional" feelings of pure love and adoration for your animals. You are allowed to say that your pets are your children. You are completely valid in telling people that you love them like your own children. Love is love. No one can tell you differently. That warm fuzzy feeling that completely consumes you. Your animals have unwavering love for you as their mom or dad. Their time with us is WAY too short, and it's unfair NOT to love them like your own children.
-Taylor Dubois
P.S. Fuck all those people that would surrender their dogs or animals for ANY reason. You don't love them and truly do not deserve to have any pet ever.
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