Thursday, May 6, 2010

My dog makes me feel like a mom

It's now officially pet week on Fertility Foibles.

My affection for my animals really does go beyond the typical pet-owner relationship. I realize that many people don't understand how pets can feel like children, but in my case, they most certainly do. I have no children of my own, so all of my maternal love is directed toward them (and our sweet Nate in Vietnam) and my niece and nephew.

Tuesday night my mothering techniques were tested by my sweet yellow lab. I came home and found that she had eaten some mouse poison. My typical self would have completely flipped out and been hysterical, but instead, I quickly assessed the situation and got on the phone with the SPCA Pet Poison Control (a wonderful service, by the way, staffed by veterinarians). Thankfully, she vomited most of the pellet up and was treated by our wonderful vet. She will be fine.

But, I was up all night with her, making sure she was breathing. And I stayed more calm than I knew I had in me.

I may not be the mom of a human yet, but my dog sure made me feel like one. Next time, I'd rather she do something a little less dramatic to conjure up the maternal feeling -- something like talking back to me or not doing her homework.

3 comments:

  1. Thank goodness that your sweet lab is okay. That must have been so scary - yet you handled the situation so well. So glad she's doing well.

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  2. We've always said that your animals have won the pet owner lottery! So glad Ellie is ok.

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  3. I can relate to being a dog mom too. I have two dogs that have seen a fair share of drama. I'd like to think of it as good practice.
    So happy your pup is ok! Dogs are amazing.

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