The Value of a Pet

© Dr. Gary D. Lemmons, February 17, 2008

My two grand children got their first dog this past weekend.  It was an event that had been coming for quite awhile.  Several determiners had to be met.  The youngsters had to be old enough to be responsible for the pet’s care and maintenance, and mom and dad had to have the mindset that it was time for another living entity to join the family.  All these things seem to have come together on Saturday, hence McClain and Mary Margaret are now the proud owners of a canine adopted from the local pet protection society.

The dog is a cross between a Husky and German Shepherd, with a little Collie mixed in.  We would have called such an animal a “mutt” in my day.  But “mutts” have always been the best and brightest dogs.  She is not a puppy, but not quite full grown either.  She seems to be well-behaved and house broken.

Getting a dog from the pet protection groups is not as easy as it sounds.  My grand children had to make application, through their parents, and, once they had visited with the dog and decided that they wanted her, a committee of the pet protection group visited in their home to make sure it was suitable for the pup!  Those folks are serious about looking after their pets.

My first dog was Spotty.  She came into my life when I was about four years old.  She was a “duke’s mixture mutt” and she would be a part of my boyhood for about 10 years.  During that decade, there were times when we would live in locations where an “outside” dog could not.  When that happened, she would go to my grandparents’ farm.  When we ended upon on Mr. Bill Jones’s farm in the early 1950s, she came home to stay.

A pet is a thing of great worth to a child.  One learns a great deal about life and a little about death by owning a pet.  Responsibility is developed…even with an “outside” animal.

I am glad McClain and Mary Margaret are now going to have those experiences.