I can’t tell you how much I dread the coming of the cold New England winger more every year. The fact that I have a gorgeous Border Collie who is immune to cold and damp weather forces me to rise up and embrace the *joy* of walking in the dark and in the cold.
Do I like doing this?
No, most often I don’t but there are a few nights when the sky is clear and the look of happiness on Bae’s face as she’s catching the Frisbee are enough to remind me that I did the right thing. After all, my ancestors were Norwegian farmers in the midwest and they had to deal with the cold without central heat or fleece pajamas so who am I to complain?
I’ve learned that it only seems like the worst activity in the world until you get out there and then it’s not so bad. Plus, I can avoid both myself and my Dog gaining the winter 10 pounds if I am able to keep “walking in the cold”.
I?ve heard about this place and never been near it but this afternoon I was in that area and I though *Heck, I should go in and see how bad it really is just so I have had the experience*.
And as I was about to pull into the parking lot I remembered that the second I walked in I would be flooded with helpless animals that I would not be able to help and I would be reminded that their parents were existing in puppy mills and would never get help.
So I kept driving.
I know many pet store dogs who have good homes and I think that their people should send money to puppy mill rescue in the off chance that they will be able to help their dog?s parents. My family got our first dog, 75% off, from a department store pet shop and she was amazing. She came from Kansas which is a pretty big puppy mill state. Surprisingly, the Amish in PA are among the biggest puppy milling community because God gave them power over the animals and the animals bring them money.
But back to the fact that I let my guard down for a few minutes and almost entered a store which represents everything that I despise about people making money by using animals. And, in a way, this tiny event in my life made me appreciate my Dogger friends because when I told Christina what *I almost did* she was horrified because she knew what seeing those little faces would have done to me.
I would have remembered them forever and would have been able to do nothing to help them.
If you want to learn about how bad this is go here:
http://www.prisonersofgreed.org/
I have a friend we?ll call *Nameless* and she has a little Dog who has not left his home or yard in about 3 years. He is reactive to many things and she doesn?t want him traumatized by anything out of his routine. She has created a terrified little Dog. He has had so much ?sameness? for the last few years that any scent or new place is horrifying to him.
She needs to walk her Dog. Dogs love to smell different smells and to see different sights. She thinks she?s protecting him from the world and the world from him but what she?s really doing is creating a paranoid Dog who thinks that the neighborhood he?s lived in his entire life is fraught with danger and scary things.
She needs to walk this Dog even if it?s only for half a block. He will have fun and she will have a better and more balanced Dog in her life.
