Who would have thought in a million years that I would consider myself a dog person?! Before Nikita, I've never had a dog. Furthermore, I'm ALLERGIC to dogs!
But here I am now. A dog person. What is a dog person? I'm not sure, but this is me:
* I believe that there are no bad dogs, just bad dog owners
* I cry everytime I see the SPCA commercial with Sarah McLachlan
* I am constantly asking Brian if we can rescue a dog so Nikita can have a sibling
* We started with Nikita sleeping in her crate in the laundry room and now Nikita sleeping on our bed - between us!
* I put Nikita on PuppyWar.com
* I absolutely love the book Marley and Me and recommend it to any dog lover, especially if you own a Labrador Retreiver
* I bawl everytime we go on vacation and have to leave Nikita with someone else
* I feel the lump forming in the back of my throat everytime I think that we will one day have to put Nikita down
* I truly believe that Nikita is part of our family
Today's episode of Oprah was on puppy mills in the US. I wasn't sure if I could watch the show, but, being a dog owner, I felt I should. I was surprised that I didn't cry very much when Lisa Ling took her undercover cameras into several puppy mills in Pennsylvania. But when they did the segment on euthanizing dogs in a Fort Worth animal shelter, I was devastated. I'm tearing up just writing this.
If there are any messages that I got from the show it's to let people know that they should never buy an animal from a pet store. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the one you are buying, but it's their parents that are being treated inhumanely. And this doesn't just happen in the US. It happens here in Canada, too.
Also, if you have ever considered owning a dog, please adopt from a shelter. We didn't adopt Nikita from a shelter, but we were lucky to have a friend who bred their dog once. If we ever get another dog, though, it will surely be a rescue dog. There are so many dogs out there that need a loving home...
I get it now. I understand. All you dog lovers out there know what I mean.
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