Don Kowalewski
Writer. Ad Sales and Marketing. Social Media Content Creator. Aeropress Coffee. Makes the best salsa in the world.
Puppy Approval
For probably the last 5 years I’ve been known as “the meanest Dad, ever,” because I wouldn’t authorize the addition of a dog to our family. But it was with good reason. From about 2000-2006, we had a dog. While I owned that dog I learned I’m not a “dog person.” See, “dog people” get dogs and understand dogs chew on things, are not human, and that they do dog things (bark, get sprayed by skunks, run away, bark, shed, have accidents in the house, bark at 2 a.m. at nothing, are a burden because they need to eat and visit the vet every now and then, and completely tie you down when it comes to blowing outta town for a weekend or going on a long vacation).
I had another problem with our dog – it was a pure bred beagle and it’s boss was always it’s nose, so that came with added fun. Our dog would find everything that smelled good and then eat that good-smelling thing (trash, food off the table, diapers, random fecal matter in the yard or on walks). We went to three rounds of obedience school and the dog was OK except when left alone with it’s nose. Maybe our beagle was high-strung, but it just couldn’t resist anything that smelled awesome. It would climb like a monkey to get at peanut butter brownies.
The dog had to go. Beagles scent receptors are 1,000x more powerful than humans and 100x more powerful than any other breed of dog.
“Dog people” might’ve tolerated it. I could not.
I vowed that if I ever got a dog again, it would be a mutt. I had an unidentifiable mutt growing up and it was the calmest, smartest, most easy going dog the world has ever seen. Enter the mutt you see above. It’s the result of two mutts having puppies. It’s like a Super Mutt. So, it is my conclusion this dog is the dog I’ve been waiting for and it will be calm, and easy-going, easy to train, it won’t be beholden to a host of instinctive behaviors (hunting, attacking, digging), and it looks like it’ll have short(ish) hair and might be right around 20-25 pounds when full grown.
I’ve been the “meanest Dad, ever” for years, now, but I always (secretly) enjoy when we get to babysit our dog-nephew and neighbor’s dogs. My family has been begging – including my youngest daughter who dubbed herself a “dog trainer” from about the time she was three years old. Truly, today when we talked about inviting some friends over for a cookout and watching some football, she breathlessly said, “oh, and they can bring their dog, too.”
I’m not kidding. She was breathless. The idea of a dog in our house for a few hours literally took her breath away.
So, here I am. I’ve given this new adventure the green light and I want to go on record that, if a dog isn’t in our house by Christmas, it’s because my wife is the “meanest Mom, ever.”
This was a nice re-entry into the blogging world. I’ve had a lot going on. I hope you missed me.
Oh …my point? People can change.
If we get this dog, I’ll be tweeting about that …so you can hang on my every word at @donkowalewski.
Don Kowalewski 