I mentioned before how good it is to have a cat in the house and the reason we got her. But we ended up having another experience with a pet that worth mentioning here.
A friend needed someone to take care of her dog. She was on her way to Spain for two weeks and her Springer Spaniel called Sparky needed a home for this period. I travelled with my son, her, her kids and Sparky to the desert of Utah during spring break so I knew the dog. I knew how adorable and well behaved he was, so I offered to take care of him.
It was just for two weeks and this was short enough for me to take in the extra work. I also thought that it was going to be interesting to expose my son to a dog for a longer period of time. He really liked Sparky and the kids had tons of fun with the dog during the camping trip down south.
I had a kennel when I was young and lived in a farm. My whole life I had dogs – cat is a first, but dog not. So, I was also excited to have a dog back in my life, even if for a short period of time. The two weeks went by flying and we had so much fun with Sparky around the house. Treasure soon realized he was not a threat and they lived peacefully during these weeks.
Most interesting was how my son developed a bond with Sparky in such a small period of time. And how he hugged and kissed the dog! It was great to see. My son even helped to care for him – and care for a dog is more time consuming and requires more dedication than care for a cat. But he didn’t complain about it. Sparky even slept with him a couple of nights!
As tempting as it was to buy a puppy the second Sparky was out of the house, I know the -40oC days will come and the dog will still require his daily walks. I also know that Sparky was very well trained and well behaved and I don’t want to train a puppy. Not in this stage of my life. I may change my mind sometime soon, but not now. Until then, we are very happy if Sparky wants to visit anytime his family is away. 😉