Meet Noodles, our unexpected arrival
I have just done something really irresponsible.
I have just done something totally out of character.
I have just done something spontaneous, but this is not a decision you want to make like that.
Here is how it happened
Last weekend I took the children over the road to check out a big undercover market called Tiendesitas. I did not realise it but it has a massive pet section. The really bad kind. The small glassed in cubes of space filled almost to the ceiling with cage upon cage filled with puppies mostly, and the odd kitten. Can I say this influenced me? Perhaps. We walked quickly through this section, my head was down or I was staring straight ahead to get to the other end. I was pushing the children along.
I cannot bare the thought that they may consider this okay.
You see, I am a crazy animal lover. I’m the one who during a National Geographic documentary on Africa, gets distraught that the camera person didn’t run in and save the wildebeest.
That night I showed the picture to SB who agreed he was very cute. We had no intention of getting animals over here as the quarantine regulations to get them home are pretty expensive and difficult. Besides, we just don’t need the added pressure.
Coming Home
Word had got around that I was looking at white fluffy puppies. That is usually how it goes in places like this over here. I was guiding the children back to the front of the markets to go home and a man outside his shop said ‘you want Pomeranian puppy? Here’. He pointed to his store and sure enough there were sweet little fluff balls in the window. I was okay to walk by but with agility only gained from years of practice; this man had gone in, removed a cream puff ball from its cage and before I had walked past his shop, placed it in my arms. Just dumped him in my arms. It was so quick I didn’t have time to breath. My fingers curled around this tiny body, disappeared into his fur. ‘Oh dear’ I said. I sat on the stool conveniently located out front of the shop, so I could deal with this situation and FB wrapped her little arms around him. It was over.
We named him Noodles and his papers say he is a Pomeranian and he has a vaccination record that showed it was up to date and he was wormed. But I knew this was probably not the truth.
We have watched this little boy get to know his new surroundings, watching him learn how to be a dog. To run, jump, explore. He had been in a cage his whole life it seems. We have watched him transform from a sad little pup with droopy ears and tail to happy eyes, smiling mouth, pricked up ears and wagging tail.
First job – bath time!
Friday morning first thing I took him off to the vet for a check-up. This is very important to do – wherever you get your puppy from. The vet asked where I had purchased this puppy and I told him. I received a kind lecture that went along the lines of…that is possibly the worst place to get a puppy, they are all diseased, even if it says he was immunised and wormed he probably wasn’t.
He doubted the papers were authentic and that Noodles is a Pomeranian. ‘It is a teacup dog which are genetic mutants and come with lots of problems’. I explained I knew it was a
puppy farm place and I don’t know why I did this but perhaps I thought I could save this one little puppy. To which the vet said. ‘Yes, by doing that you support the cause’. I felt the knife go through my heart because he was of course right. This vet was not being mean. He was very kind and empathetic and he absolutely needed to tell me all of this.
Noodles was de-wormed, tested for two key diseases and put under strict quarantine for two weeks. The cough Noodles has will be monitored these two weeks, but it is clear he has Kennel Cough (as a cat lover I suggested he was trying to hoik up a furball, to the Vet’s amusement). As the days are rolling over I feel concerned there is something seriously wrong with him. Despite how I feel about dogs, I cannot stand them being in pain or suffering.
Here is the clincher. I regret getting this dog. I am actually not a dog person, I am a cat person. This has become even clearer to me these few days. Not only that but I have brought the burden of care of this creature onto my family. We are here for a short time and had planned to travel. Now I have to find a way for Noodles to be cared for while we do this.
I know how bad it sounds. Believe me. If I were on the other side of this I would be disgusted. So let me clarify why I regret this. I do not believe in getting a pet, especially a dog unless you have really thought it through. Until you have considered how the dog will impact your lifestyle, your family, your budget. You have actually researched the right breed – I did not even know what a Pomeranian looked like (I thought it was a Shih Tzu). I do not believe in being unprepared because you need to be in control of this little creature from the start. You must establish alpha status, you must start training and you need to know how to do this. Oh and let’s not forget what a new puppy is like – consider having a newborn baby in your house. I have slept maybe 6 hours in total these last 48 hours.
We have just arrived in a foreign country, we are still trying to find our way – physically and emotionally as a family. I have not established a structure to my life – which I need, that is just me. We are in transition. This is why I regret my actions. It is just not the right time.