No, I Don’t Want a Dog!

     🐕. What’s happening?  Why are so many people around me wanting pets and asking me to get one? Why are they specifically wanting me to get a dog?  Among other things, they gleefully say, “Sandra, you need a dog!”  “You need one.”  “You must get a dog!”  “They are awesome!” Do I look lonely for a pet I wonder?

         My gut wrenching, angry response is usually, “ABSOLUTELY NOT!” “I DO NOT NEED A D** DOG!” When they don’t seem to understand those responses, I follow up with, “WHAT I NEED, IS A LOVING MAN IN MY LIFE.”  Seriously, there is no part of me that say I want to nurture a pet, and I wish those around me who thing I am “pet ready,” would leave me alone and stop bringing up the topic. 

         🐓Don’t get me wrong, when I was a child, I had dogs and other animals around me, and I liked them.  If you grew up on an island like Jamaica, you know what I am talking about.  You also know that our pets were not considered “near humans,” like they are in the US.  Their food, habitat, and general well-being,  were not on par with that of humans.  


         Unlike animals in the US and maybe other parts of the world,  island pets have no place in ones house, and are not treated as such.  I like it like that.  Do I want another thing to worry about like some of the “pet loving” folks I know?  Do I need my goings and comings to be dictated by the needs of an animal?  The resounding answer is NO!
 
         💃🏿After teaching children for over thirty years, and taking care of two of my own, I really will not dedicate any of my leisure time to the care for an animal.  I will not spend time to provide clothing, housing, specialty foods, health care, life insurance, entertainment, pet hotel, babysitting, or any other life comforts for a dog!  To me, that’s crazy, and I would rather not be in an asylum.


         I know many of you will disagree with me, and that’s ok.  I will not be held hostage by an animal, and  I will not be persuaded to get a pet.  People around me know I am reluctant to visit their house if they have a pet, and they are not allowed to bring a pet to my house.  Sometimes there is a compromise, but only when it is established that the pet will not bother me.  For now, the idea of having a pet can fall by the wayside.  Don’t like them, don’t want them, don’t ask me to get them. 


         🐜I am just fine without a pet, believe me. I will exercise my freedom to care for myself, my loved ones, and maybe that loving other person when he comes. 🎯