KSC’s Blog

After having our dog, Huggles for 9 months now, we decided to give her up to another loving home. Wow, this was a tough decision. Prior to us getting the dog, the kids prayed every night for dog for 2 years and we finally got one, and a dog that was friendly and very good. We had Huggles since she was 8 weeks old and we did a pretty good job in training her. She was crate-trained, paper-trained, could sit on command, stay on command, even pee on command (better than my kids).

But, we decided as a family (ok, my wife and I), that having a dog is fun and great for the kids, but it restricts us in too many ways. We always have to be consensus of time whenever you are out because you have to rush home to let the dog out. And it’s so difficult to find dogsitters for mini-trips, overnights, and vacations. That cuts into the events (i.e church) and even relationships.

Some people say that having a dog is like having another child. When people who don’t have children say that, I say, “no, it’s not!” You can’t just leave a child at home for 6 hours and then come back and let it out. You can’t just leave a child unattended at your convenience. You can’t train your child with treats like you do a dog. Kids WILL say NO! But, on the other hand, when people who DO have children say, having a dog is like having a child, I agree (is that hypocritical?). Because they understand the huge difference between raising a child and a dog, and yet, it’s another reponsibility of life. And I guess we were ready for the benefits of the dog and even got over the dog training hard part, but when the dog limited with our interactions with people outside, we had to say that we value that more. Some people who have dogs can do both, and that’s great. But we don’t have the luxury of family that can watch the dog, or a big back yard (or any back yard for that matter) or live close to church. So, we found a good home for Huggles.

Obviously, the kids were heart-broken. We had to give her away while Kailey and Emily were at school and when Emily got home, and she found Huggles gone, she cried for 3 hours straight. Kailey and Nathan both cried as well. So, my wife took them to the toy store and said they could each buy a toy for under $10. Emily got a stuffed dog and when she got home, she took the Huggles doggie tag and put it on her stuffed dog. And now she plays around the house as if it’s Huggles. Sad, huh? Cruel parents. Well, some day, when we have one or all of the above mentioned luxuries, we will definitely get them another one (promised). But, until then … freedom!