It's a Dogs Life..

The Seventh Day has become something of an event in our house. It’s the one day in the manic existence of Monday through Saturday that we actually take the time to take half an hour, sit down as a family and discuss anything that has arisen in the week or anything that may be up and coming. These chats consist of opinions and views from me, my dearly beloved and my son nicknamed Boo; I call it Family Meeting Time - the Other Half (Shaun) refers to it as Numb Bum Hour. Our usual topics are pocket money, chores that need doing, whether my son should be allowed to go and call for his friend alone, reminders about not filling pockets with stones, remembering to flush the loo and more recently.....Pets. 

I love the idea of having a dog. I’ve repeatedly “suggested”( albeit half heartedly) to Shaun that a furry canine friend would complete our home. He says he’d rather have another baby. I have a vision of long walks in the countryside with the most gorgeous well behaved dog, happy children, people stopping to admire just how great and wholesome we all are...he pointed out that in reality we’d end up a soggy bunch of grumpy people, wet through and muddy, buggy wrecked (I daren’t even tell him how much the buggy cost, to get it caked in mud would be a crime against four wheeled baby carrying contraptions) with the dog either tying us up in the lead or running off into the distance. When my idyllic bubble is burst- I’ll admit it. I’m a fair weather outdoorsy type. Quite literally. I might look the part – tweed jacket and my funky wellies but I have to say that the thought of any outdoor activity minus the twenty eight degree sun is about as appealing as pulling my toenails off in a random fashion. Yet for some unknown reason I continued to raise the subject of having a pooch. I think Shaun saw his opportunity to somewhat dissuade me when he discovered a friend of mine had recently returned to work full time and had been leaving her dog (a rather bouncy Labradoodle) home alone. After a little chat he decided after the recent spell of nice weather, we could be proactive (not to mention helpful) and test just how much fun it could be having a dog by offering to take pooch out for the afternoon.....Big Mistake. After twenty minutes I’d lost the dog twice after he refused to obey any commands, I’d got a piece of bark in my eye and sworn enough times to make a trooper blush. Then the ultimate insult came from Mother Nature.  I’d obviously peed her off along with the dog as the weather suddenly went from twenty six (and a half) degrees with sunshine to rival the Costa Del Sol to black clouds, pelting rain with a bit of thunder to boot. As I ran for the car, with Shaun, babypie and doggy McBouncybum in tow I happened to glance back over my shoulder and catch the look on my ‘darling’ boyfriends face. Triumphant wasn’t the word to describe it. I think on the long soggy haul up the hill he knew the subject of having a pup was well and truly closed. I reeeaaallllllyyyy hate it when he’s right.

I wonder how he’d feel about hamsters?