Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Bye, Sammie?




Well, Sammie became the newest addition to our family. We all fell in love with her, but just like taking care of a baby, a puppy is LOTS of work and responsibility. We broke the news to Kaitlyn (our 4-year-old) who is fine with it, but Connor (who's 8) is absolutely devasted. I feel just awful about it and now I feel like someone ripped my heart out.

Parenting is tough. Sometimes we make decisions thinking it'll be good for our children, but instead it ends up being the wrong decision (or, in our case, bad timing). Thank God our Father doesn't always give us what we want because He knows what's best and doesn't want to hurt us.

Girls, any thoughts? I haven't felt this torn and indecisive in a long time.

3 comments:

christianne said...

Oh my gosh, that little pup is SO CUTE! So adorable. I wish I could have him! But I'm afraid our two cats would feel absolutely put out. :)

So, are you saying that you decided you can't keep Sammie after all? And that you told the two kids already? Or are you still trying to decide and just let them know it might not be permanent?

My mom got TWO puppies earlier this year -- golden retrievers -- and it ended up being too much work for her. They were plenty rowdy, and she's a single woman living by herself. She had to give them away to my cousins, which was a hard decision but good for all involved.

I also had a dog that I rescued a few years ago that ended up not being a good fit because I was never home (single girl living it up! just kidding) and she got so lonely she used to run away a lot, and I'd get home and have to go looking for her. I ended up giving her away to another family member, and she's much happier now because they can give her much more space and attention.

All that to say that I know those decisions can be REALLY HARD -- it feels like the truth of sacrificial love, for the good of the dog -- but sometimes has to be done. I just don't know what it would be like to have little children's hearts involved in the equation, so I'm afraid I can't be of much help there. :(

Lillian Laitman-McAnally said...

I sure do miss talking to you!
Thanks for the advice. We did make the decision to give her away to someone who can spend time with her and take care of her.
We will adopt a dog in the future. Thanks so much for your encouraging words. Those words really took the sting out of the heartbreak.

christianne said...

Awwww! You're so sweet -- and so welcome! But I'm sorry for such a hard decision to have to be made. :(