December 3, 2007 Baby, it's COLD outside!

December 3, 2007

Baby, it’s COLD outside!

This time of year always bothers me, not just because I’m not a “winter” person, (if I had my druthers I’d be a snowbird heading to Florida or Hawaii for the winter), but because so many pets are kept outside all winter long without adequate shelter.
I know there are those who believe animals should live outside. But dogs with short coats really don’t have enough to keep them warm.
For example, I hate to admit this…but once upon a time, I was one of those people who left all the animals outside. Not because I wanted to, but because my parents didn’t believe in animals in the house, and gee, lucky me, I married a guy just like them! We used to have Dalmatians. One cold day, I’ll never forget, Dottie came up to the back door, looking in at us shivering. I told my husband, “Oh, let her in, she’s freezing!” He wouldn’t let her in. Gave me excuses of she has straw in her dog house, or she has a heat lamp in the barn, if you bring her in now she’ll get sick when she has to go back out., no dogs in the house! Like a fool, I actually listened to him and let him get by with that. It was so hard to watch my dog shiver, while I sat in my warm comfortable house. I felt like the world’s biggest heel. Today I am truly ashamed of myself that I allowed that to happen.
Well, growing up does wonderful things to a person, it made me a whole lot more confident, and I stopped “asking” permission to do stuff. I just did it. Soon our pets became house pets. Every complaint he had I learned to ignore. My backbone grew finally and I was able to stand up to him and do the right thing. Never again would I allow animals to suffer due to ignorance. Today we have 3 dogs, a cat, guinea pig, turtle, and fish as pets in the house, all cozy and warm, as it should be. The turtle even has a tank heater.
I know that some pets prefer to be outside, some have ultra thick coats that were made to endure harsh winter weather, but use common sense. If you are cold, your dog is bound to be cold too! If your dog is inside, you won’t have to worry about his water freezing either. If your husband is still bound and determined to complain and make life difficult, maybe you should put your hubby outside in the doghouse, and bring Fido in. Your dog won’t complain because you are everything to your dog. He loves you like no other. Don’t you wish your husband was as quiet and attentive? Meanwhile, your hubby can get used to breathing the crisp outdoor air and sleeping in an itchy, straw filled doghouse with frozen water to drink. Be sure and put a chain around his neck too, just to keep him out of trouble.
Now I can say I’ve “reformed” my husband. He’s learned that pets in the house are not a bad thing, and if he thinks they are, tough noogies. I’ve tried to compromise with him. I don’t let them in our bedroom at night to sleep with us, so my cold feet have to get warmed up on my husband instead of the dog. Of course, after he goes to work in the morning my dogs know the bed is fair game, and they are happy to snuggle in with me and keep me warm.
What’s not to love about pets in the house? They clean the floors; trust me there is not ONE crumb on my floor. They don’t complain about anything. They don’t leave their shoes where they don’t belong, and they don’t hog the remote!
He’s learned that when I bring a new pet into the house, all the complaining about “you don’t need another dog” is simply a waste of breath. I finally had to tell him this a few years ago, I said “You’d think after seventeen years you’d realize that I always get my way.” Well that must’ve had an impact on him, because he hasn’t said a word about any new critters since then. It’s good to grow older and speak your mind! Now I realize why the red hat society exists! Save me a hat girls, I’m coming to join you in a few years!