I've been watching a friend's dog while she was out of town for a few days. He's a medium sized dog. I'm not sure what breed he is, though my friend has mentioned it before. I wasn't the first choice to watch her dog, but her usual dog sitter was unavailable. While my friend knows that I enjoy playing with dogs and taking care of them, she doesn't understand why I refuse to let her dog lick my face, even after I cited very valid reasons.
Look, I done told her that I've seen her dog eat poop and sniff other dogs' butts. I'm not letting her dog lick my face when I know where that dog's mouth has been! And I don't buy that dogs mouths are very clean excuse. That's good for the dog, but I'm not a dog. My immune system is not as robust.
She left me strict instructions about how often to feed her dog: Twice a day, with a scoop and a half of dog chow each time. The last time she left her dog in my care, she accused me of fattening up her dog, because I fed him 3 times a day. Hey, I couldn't just eat a meal in front of the dog staring at me with those large eyes, looking pitiful and hungry. So whenever I ate, the dog ate, too. And it's not like all I did was feed him. I took that dog for walks and played fetch with him for at least two hours in the evenings and an hour in the mornings to start my day. That dog loves me; he comes up to me, wagging his tail every time I visit. He probably enjoys my company. Or maybe he just knows that I'm more likely to give him scraps from my plate when I'm eating.
And as much fun as I have playing with the dog, I know that I can't have a pet right now, no matter what people say. I just really don't have the time and my work requires me to go places and work long hours. I think it's unfair and unkind to take on a pet when you can't commit to care for it wholeheartedly. Since it was my last day to take care of the dog, I decided to spend an extra hour playing with him, having him fetch that tennis ball and letting him run up and down the park. And when we got home, I gave him two full scoops of food instead of the scoop and a half. He's earned it. And while I'm a little sad to see him go home, it's going to be nice to be able to sleep in a little longer and eat my meals without feeling guilty about the dog looking at me with his sad, pleading eyes.
