Please don't call me a 'Pet Dad'!

It's funny, our American society has become obsessed with our pets. Whether you are a dog lover, cat lover, fish lover, bird lover or even a rodent lover; our obsession with our pets seems to have grown amazingly over the past several years. Now this may be due in large part to the pet industry itself; with such titans as Petsmart and Petco both vying for our wallets it is in their best marketing dollars interest to pump life into a growing obsession.

Let me state, I love my dogs. We have 5 of them living with us! Sable and Kaycee, both 12 and sisters/litter mates have been with us since they were puppies. Beautiful German Shepards, Sable can be a bit cranky in her older age while Kaycee is the sweetheart of the group. Recent additions to the pack include: Zora, an 11 month old female German Shepard who is being trained to be a guide dog for the blind and Xaris an 18 month old female German Shepard here as a breeder for the Leader Dogs for the Blind program. Zora will leave us soon and make her way (with our help of course) to Rochester, Michigan where she will be trained fully to be a guide dog (or so we hope!). Xaris will most likely produce several litters of fine German Shepard puppies for the program before retiring and becoming a permanent fixture on a dog bed in the master bedroom! And then there is Tara, Nikki's puppy that is a mix of Boxer and Spaniel.

As you can imagine, our house is a constant bustle of activity; from first thing in the morning when the dogs are released from our room and fed in waves (older girls going last so they are not trampled down in the flurry of excited, furry legs) to whenever we walk in the door and we are greeted as if we had been gone for years rather than 20 minutes. Even with a household of dogs that out number us (at an alarming rate; didn't 'Planet of the Apes' start out this way?), I would not say we are obsessed with our dogs. We don't have stickers on our car proclaiming the breed that is most likely resting in the backseat; we don't have stickers that proudly proclaim us as Doggy Daddy or Doggy Mommy (although I have been given that nickname in other circumstances, but I digress) and we most certainly don't dress our dogs up (however, I was tempted to buy reindeer antlers to put on the older girls this past Christmas just to mess with Lisa).

No, our dogs are just that, dogs. They have rules, they are expected to listen, they eat dog food - dry (I do have to admit that it is better dog food though, we want them healthy after all) as they are NEVER fed from the table. They go to the vet on a regular basis and they have their positions in our household hierarchy. A word on that though - it is still my contention that I need to be a bit higher than the dogs - they have yet to agree on this.

All this is not to say that we don't give them special treatment from time to time. Sable, with her ailing hip, was given stairs to help her get up on the bed, a spot she now occupies nearly 18 hours a day. Kaycee rarely comes up on the bed, so when she does, she is allowed to stay as long she likes, much to the detriment of my sleeping pattern that night as Kaycee does like to spread out. The other dogs, being Guide Dogs, are content to sleep in their crates, generally on top a very comfy blanket or two. Aside from my predilection for buying them toys, we try not to obsess over them. Or at least I try not to. I was literally stunned this morning when being told that my electric toothbrush was used in a failed attempt to brush Zora's teeth. Bear in mind, it wasn't my current Sonic Care brush (good Lord I hope not), but it was the brush I intended to pack into my travel kit. Let's just say it is now the property of the dogs.

But we are not obsessed.

So please don't call me a 'Pet Dad'!