A Dog's Life is Ruff

   If memory serves me right (which it often does not), we got our golden retriever Chase the first week after moving into our new home. We found a breeder out near Denton, and Chase was the last puppy available from her litter.

 

  I have always wanted a large dog. Little did I know that your house actually shrinks when you introduce a large animal into said home. Almost five years later we have a 95+ lb miniature horse that loves to gallop through our living space.

   We've gone back and forth over the past year debating on whether or not to keep him. But here's the problem when you introduce a dog into your life (at least from my perspective and experience), they almost immediately become a part of your family. Does that sound cliché? It probably is for a reason.

Here's a brief list of some pros and cons I've come up with:

Cons:
   Loose dog fur all over the place, all the time
   Letting in a wet/muddy dog when it rains outside
   Potty training a puppy results in a permanently ruined carpet
   Large dog + small house = dog constantly under foot
   Heavy dog + your foot = involuntary expletives
   Big dog + big bowl of food = big poop to clean up

Pros:
   Our golden retriever is one of the best family dogs I've ever seen
   He rarely EVER barks
   He's extremely patient with Emerson
   He gets scared during thunderstorms and loves to be close by, no matter where you are.
   He chews only on his bone and mostly nothing else
   He's never aggressive
   He's protective of his family if he feels something is wrong

   There was a time when we seriously considered getting rid of him. The real reason behind it? He was becoming an inconvenience to us. We had multiple reasons, but that was the bottom line. The problem with that? It's not his fault. It's not his fault he's big, it's not his fault our house is small, and it's not his fault that we chose him to be a part of our family.

   The older Emerson grows, the closer the bond grows between them. It is tangibly visible, and I think I speak for both Danae and myself when I say that we made the right decision keeping him.