Semi-Charmed Life

Raising a Dog is a Headache

If raising a dog is even a fraction as troublesome as raising a kid, I'm not sure if I want to have kids. Maybe troublesome is not quite the right word, but whenever there's a problem with Bobo it makes me worried sick. I think I care more about the health of my dog than my own health because whenever there's a problem with him, I bring him to the vet right away. Whenever there's a problem with me, I wait it out a few days or weeks to see if it'll go away.

There was the time when Bobo started pissing blood. It wasn't a large amount. Maybe just a few drops. You know when there's blood in your piss, regardless if it's a dog or human, it can't be good. That cost me a pretty penny. Then there are the countless times when Bobo managed to dig through the garbage can and eat something he wasn't supposed to eat. One time I had a whole grave of chicken bones that I threw out but I forgot to close the door to the kitchen. The next morning I see the garbage can turned over with the chicken bones missing. I was worried for two weeks because chicken bones are REALLY BAD for dogs. They're brittle and can snap into shards that can rip right through their stomachs. Since he's alive now, I'll assume that the bones didn't hurt him, but I really was worried sick.

Yesterday, when I went home I found Bobo licking at his paw incessantly. I'm not sure what's wrong with his paw. Maybe there's a splinter stuck in it or maybe there's a tick there. It looks really raw at this point. I can't even do much because when I go near that paw he growls and becomes very defensive. I asked my brother to bring him to the vet for me, so hopefully the vet will be able to take care of this problem.

And that's another thing that bugs the hell out of me. When your own dog growls at you, it's very disheartening. 99% of the time, Bobo's a sweetheart. But that 1% . . . it almost makes me feel like he should be put down. Is it an unrealistic expectation of a dog owner that his dog should not growl at him? After all, dogs have emotions too. The worst is when he growls after he becomes possessive over a piece of food or bone. But he also growls when he's in a really comfortable spot and you try to get him out of it or bother him. And now he's growling because he doesn't want anyone to touch his irritated paw.

What a headache . . .