"Should New Acquaintance Be Forgot...?"

Okay, so forget the “auld acquaintances” we all sang about and toasted with far too many glasses of champagne on New Year’s Eve – I’ve got bigger fish to fry! Well, truthfully, if fish were the issue, this wouldn’t be a problem, but that’s another story…

Recently, my husband and I finally made the decision to cave in to my son’s numerous requests for a dog. Yes, we tried to distract him with fish, frogs, hamsters and other ‘low maintenance’ pets… We even tried to take his mind off of it with fun family getaways – how can a mere dog compete with the happiest place on Earth?? Unfortunately, my son is not only a fun-loving 7 year old – he is also an elephant. He never forgets. And when it comes to this particular issue, he’s like a dog with a bone (pun intended!).

So we researched, planned, analyzed, deliberated, organized… and eventually welcomed Gryffindor Sokz to our family - A.K.A. "Gryffin" (deliberate ‘tip of the hat’ to my son’s other obsession, Harry Potter!).

The house was in chaos, the carpets were a disaster, but the kid was elated and Mommy had a chance to earn back a few of those long-gone “Mommy-of-the-Year” brownie points. Sounds like a perfect Hollywood ending, right? Insert image here of the boy & his dog frolicking off through the sunshine-filled fields as the credits start to roll… (I realize its January and the sunshine-filled moments are few & far between, but work with me here!)

And then it started.

A few eye rubs here & there…. A persistent tickle in that space where your ears & throat meet that you can never quite reach… Then full-on itchy, puffy, watery swollen eyes – the kind you get from the funeral scene in Steel Magnolias. A cold? No… feels a bit different. Could it be…? No… there’s no way…. It couldn’t be…. Oh no.

I think I’m allergic to the dog.

Now I’ve been around dogs on & off throughout my lifetime with absolutely no issues (barking, biting & pooping aside). I have absolutely no allergies, other than a self-diagnosed allergy to housework, but I don’t seem to get much sympathy for that one…

To say I feel absolutely sick about this is an understatement! “Here you go, little boy – here’s the gift you’ve wanted every day for your entire life. Enjoy! Now, just kidding!” Seriously, I have no idea how I’ll be able to afford the life-long therapy! And any chance of recouping those long-lost “Mom of the Year” points is obviously shot to hell.

I know what you’re all thinking (other than “Sucks to be you!”) – don’t put the cart before the horse (Lord, don’t introduce a horse to the equation, too!) – figure out if you’re truly allergic to the dog before you figure out the best way to crush your son’s hopes & dreams and scar him for life. Check. The appointment with the allergist is booked & I’m crossing my fingers that it isn’t the dog but is in fact my long pleaded for symptoms to that housework allergy...

In the interim, however, as each day passes and more balls are thrown, walks are taken and hugs are shared, the situation stresses me out more and more. Seriously, could you disappoint this face?

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Pet Store

Let me start by saying I’m not really a ‘pet person’. I mean, cats & dogs are great... if they're other people’s. The way I see it, I’m just not equipped to deal with feeding, cleaning, walking, and training another little creature – I’ve got my son for that!


So when he first started begging for a pet, we finally caved and bought him a fish. We convinced him that watching it swim back & forth would be entertaining enough… and for the first little while, he actually bought it! Fast forward four years, two dead fish and one life lesson of death, grief, etc. and you’re up to speed. My son was ready to hit the pet store and find another little friend to follow in the fins of the infamous Bluey and Herbie. I sent him off with hubby to the pet store for what seemed to be a ‘win-win’ situation for everyone – son gets new fish, dad gets quality time with son, mom gets an uninterrupted 20 minutes to enjoy a coffee.

Well, time passed and coffee consumed – however when ‘the boys’ returned, there was no fish to be found. Why? It seems that somewhere between my driveway and the neighbourhood pet store, the wish for a replacement fish somehow morphed into a burning desire for a hamster! Seriously?? A fur-covered mouse, requiring much more maintenance, that stinks, and could potentially escape (not once did either of our fish ever make a break for it!). What part of this seems fun?

Plus, when the time comes for this thing to head to ‘hamster heaven’, we’re now dealing with a dead ‘thing’, rather than just a floating fish. Lovely. So when my son sat us down and declared a ‘family meeting’ to discuss the potential new addition, I was prepped & ready to launch into “anti-pet” mode.

What I didn’t count on was how seriously he was taking the process. He sat us down with a piece of paper and a pencil in hand and proceeded to write out his detailed list of pros & cons. He asked the right questions, gave the right answers, wrote out a schedule and asked for a vote.

Nuts. I could feel my resolve starting to crumble. Could I stick to my guns and keep my house rodent-free?

Meet Harry, the newest addition to our family….. *sigh*…. Could you say no to that face??