Letter to friend who wants to give up her dog.

[alixb]

Its your decision but she is only going to get calmer as she ages. You are her pack. You are her family. You have to love her when she is calm & when she is being a pain in the ass.
You have to love her in the winter & the summer.
It’s a commitment. You can't resent her when she becomes a "burden" to you.
My commitment is 100%. It is never a decision of "she is too much work" or whatever, I have to take her out, I have to feed her, pay her Vet bills etc. I just find a way to work it out. It has cost me thousands over the years to have my dogs. I just do it because I love her & am committed to her having a great life.
When Maxxie died, I never felt so alone in my life. I could not stay home. Then I got Hope who I loved beyond measure. She was very difficult due to her fears & her energy level but I did tons of training with her. I drove to Langley for 2 months once a week in the pouring rain in the winter for her training & every minute in the car with her was a nightmare because of her anxiety in the car. I did what I had to do & things got better.
Her death was such a heartbreak for me that left me depressed for 4 months where I cried everyday.
So all I am saying is, can you commit to her for the rest of her life or not? There will always things that will piss you off. You will have to spend money on her & you will have to put her needs ahead of your own. She will get older & when she is really old, more Vet bills come but they are so sweet when they are old & you will be so happy she is still with you & pray she will live little longer.
What ever you decide, make sure you are doing it for yourself & your family. No one will judge & if they do screw them. You have already gone through the hardest part with her, puppyhood. Why do you think I got an adult dog?? LOL I think from what I saw that you have done a great job with her.

You know how I feel & these are only my feelings

[Blackboy98]

Alix B, you have hit the nail on the head!!! A person's dog is their companion, friend and guide. He/she will love the person as long as the dog lives. They bring sunshine in times of despair and loneliness, they will do ANYTHING for their human as long as they live.

It would be nice if your friend could experience what other dog owners would do to KEEP their dog.

It makes me VERY sad to even think someone would want to get rid of their best friend because of 'something'.

[windycanyon]

You ought to see the emails we get thru LRC, Inc rescue! 2 just yesterday wanting to place their 7 & 8mo old lab mixes. What do you bet the 10 yo kid's 8 mo old puppy was a Christmas present????
I too have lost a lot of dogs, 2 of which were before their time. Just makes you want to slap people at times...

[barry581]

I've never understood how someone can just let their dog go. Yes, Lab puppies can be pretty horrible, but if you stick with it, you will find you have no one who loves you unconditionally like a dog will. Like Anne, I've lost two of my Labs way to early, both at about 19 months old. There is pretty much nothing I wouldn't do for my dogs.

Sadly we live in a throw away society, too often when things get tough, or fail to meet our expectations, we toss it.

[awackywabbit]

I think part of the problem is in the internet society we have now people see all the cute puppy/dog pictures and read all the wonderful stories and say "I want that". No one really shares much about the hard times, the things they chew up, the pee, poop, vomit, and various other things you clean up. Dealing with behavior problems etc, In the end it is all worth it all but we live in a society that is afraid to work and would rather take the easy way out, job's tough get a new one, spouse annoying you divorce & remarry, etc etc.

[Labradorks]

If she doesn't want the dog, I say tell her to find someone who does. If she isn't going to put in the work and commitment, she doesn't deserve the dog. While I don't really understand people like this, sometimes a dog does benefit from a new, better home with people who care and are willing to get through the hard times.

[POPTOP]

Bravo on that letter. Could not agree more with the responses.

[alixb]

I do agree with Labradorks though too, sometimes its better if they find a new owner but it looks like she has decided to keep her. I am so glad. I did give her a little of my speech on how my dogs have taught me responsibility & that it made me less self centered etc. she wants to have kids & I said " you think this is a big deal, you wait until you have a baby." She is young but she is a good person. I hope I made some impact on her but the only thing that matters is that she is not giving her up. The one thing I did say to her was " Nala will be heart broken" . Maybe that helped. Who knows.

[janedoe]

I can't even imagine. Well thought out letter.