The kids have been asking to have a dog for a long time and we keep saying no. Andrew with his allergies, it is not really fair to him and what would we do when we went away. Plus all the other costs associated with having another mouth to feed.
Last week was spring break and one of their friend who has a hypoallergenic dog was going away with the family. They asked us to dog sit for them. Andrew was quite hesitant with his allergies but Natalie jumped at the chance and promised to walk, feed and play with her and also vacuum everyday. So after some thought we decided that this would be good for Natalie as a test.
So last week we became a family of 6 with Kona. For most of the days Natalie woke up to feed and walked her. Since I was up earlier, I would just send her outside and then feed her and when I left for work, I would wake Natalie up and she would go walk her. She and Andrew took her out to play at the park too during the day.
She enjoyed the cuddling and Andrew enjoyed Kona’s excitement when we came home. Whether we were gone for a few hours or just a few minutes. We were mostly able to keep her off the couches and Andrew only had watery eyes for the first 2 days.
Kona really enjoys mitts and toques. We lasted really well with nothing loss until her last day when we came home from shopping to see Natalies gloves and torque on her blanket where she was chewing on it. Natalie was quite upset.
So after the fun week with our guest, we all talked about what we learned from our little adventure. Matthew says we have to have a small dog who physically can’t jump on furniture, short hair so the poop doesn’t get stuck on it and one that doesn’t need to go on long walks. Natalie says she still wants a dog but it has been 4 days and I haven’t heard her talk about getting a dog or getting excited when seeing a dog walking. She can get her dog fix when the friends travel again and we can give it back!
Who knows if or when we will get a dog…..