A Message

Whenever we go to a park (which is at least 2 or 3 days a week- I mean with this CA weather.... how can ya not? :) ) my kids are always going up to people with dogs, offering to walk them, play with them- pretty much be involved anyway they can with the dog or dogs. Invariably the conversation turns to how much they want a dog. "My mom says we can have a dog when we start cleaning up after ourselves all the time, " one of them will begin. "My mom says she has enough people to take care of right now and until we show responsibility, we can't have a dog," is another lead in. Yes, I know this because the people at the park come and tell me what my kids say to them.

Don't get me wrong the dog owners are very supportive, "Your mom is absolutely right. Dog ownership is a big responsibility," they concur in one way or another. It is just sometimes embarrassing be to known at the park as the mom who won't let her kids get a dog when they are so "obviously" good with animals. "We just bought a house," I try and explain. "Yeah, I know they told me," the dog owner will reply. Then my mind keeps going.... did they tell about when Ashton's diaper came off and there was poop on the stairs and I kept repeating, "We are not getting a dog! We are not getting a dog!"? What kind of picture are they painting of me. This rigid cold, uncaring and unfeeling, anti-pet mother?

Well, yesterday in art I found out what kind of picture they are painting of the dog anyway. The assignment was to draw and paint a dog. Alex chose to draw "Blue" from Blues Clues. (When he brought it out to show me he said, "Don't worry mom, it's educational.") I would love a dog like Blue. One that can entertain children for 20 minutes at at time, clean up after herself, can problem solve and can communicate. Heck Blue even goes to school, but I don't think Blue's contract will allow her to come and live with a mom who 'appears' to be against dogs. :)

Payton drew a specific dog that she had walked for over an hour at the park the previous Thursday. She was a beautiful dog, 15 years old, fantastic around children and other dogs. The only problem is she already had an owner and family. Cross that one off the list (but Payton's picture is darling).

Madison also drew another dog that she had "played" with. Another well-behaved dog, and she depicted her on the beach, playing nicely along sand toys. I guess she understands that there is a little more than the 'cuteness' factor. They have to be able to do something. (But part of me thinks I can smell the wet dog riding in the van on the way home from the beach with us? Hallucinations?)

Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, I just hate to clean. We have been living for so long in such a small place that the thought of having something else to mess it up exhausts me. Having a toddler walking around in the back yard with the potential to step in... well you know, is just too much for me. I would have to clean up the toddler, get the child who was responsible for cleaning it up in the
first place, then come back and clean up the mischief that the toddler got into while I was directing the neglegent child in their duties (word chosen specifically) . See it is already sounding like a lot of work. We won't even go into the fact that finding a dog that well trained is going to be almost as difficult as finding a mate (and in theory adding another 'person' to your family is like that in many ways).

So for now, people at parks all over the Bay Area will know me as the mom who has thrown her kids a bone, and if they step up and show responsibility, they will get a dog. (Now that doesn't that sound like chasing a dream does it?). Wish them luck. By the way, if the legend of the 'poor dog loving kids' reaches your playground, think of the poor mom who will need to take care of it all at the end of the day, regardless of the best of intentions. She is really the one who needs the sympathy, not the 'dogless' children. :)