Mama-Come-Lately

Big dog, Amsterdam, March 2011.

Something happened to my relationship with our dog Jim when I got pregnant. It was as if all my emotional energy was immediately channeled to the embryo. Oh sure, I’d feed him and walk him (we don’t have a yard), but I just didn’t have the mental space or enthusiasm for him that I used to.

A few months after the baby was born, Jim’s laryngeal paralysis got much worse and we had to put him down. Basically, he was slowly suffocating to death in front of my eyes. So I was far more upset about watching him suffer, and feeling responsible for that suffering, than I was about letting him go.

And now that the baby is crawling and the weather is cold and will soon be utterly awful, whenever I see my neighbors walking their dogs all I can think is, “better you than me, sucker!” Dogs are great and all, and I suppose we’ll have another one at some point, when we live in a house with a yard and the baby is old enough to at least attempt to help with dog care. But right now, I’m really grateful that our house is animal-free.

Weekly floor care is plenty, thanks.