dog ownership: it's not always a walk in the park

Having a pet is a serious undertaking and I wouldn't recommend it unless you truly love animals and are 100% committed to caring for them financially, physically, and emotionally.  Depending on the kind of pet you choose, they can require a lot- so if you aren't prepared then don't even think about it.  Don't take this to mean that I don't love Tank or in some way regret getting him, because we absolutely ADORE him... but he is a lot of work.

 Tank on the couch while I'm blogging... I just fluffed the cushions.

Over the past few weeks Tank has been a HOT MESS.  We noticed a growth on his front paw just before the holiday and I told Jake we'd need to keep an eye on it in case it started getting bigger.  Of course, Jake did not want to have to bring him into the vet over something like that and quickly dismissed it until a couple weeks ago when it started growing by the day.  I made an appointment and learned that it was some type of immune response to a cut/bite/scratch/who knows and would eventually go away on its own.  Needless to say, I'm glad we had it checked out because it continued to get bigger and bigger and we would have totally freaked out if we didn't known what it was/wasn't.

That same growth was the cause of several other issues including blood on our couch, duvet, and sheets.  Yep... it burst not once, but twice as a result of him playing and got everywhere.  Awesome, right?  The stains on the couch have lightened in color, but are still there and the sheets are still a work in progress.

That's not all though.  Recently, while taking a shower Tank somehow managed to get a corner of the bath mat under the door and started eating it.  No joke.  I came out of the shower and noticed the rug had been pulled under the door and when I opened it, carpet shavings were just sitting there.  Bad dog.

Speaking of carpets, he also has a habit of shredding the rug in front of our door whenever we dog sit Peanut (Scott and Hannah's sidekick).  This has happened twice now and we've only had Peanut twice.  The weird part is that we dog sit for friends a lot and this only happens with Peanut in particular.  I'm onto rug #3 and I plan to put it away the next time Peanut comes to visit.  I should have learned my lesson the first time around, but we honestly thought Peanut did it since Tank had never chewed on rugs before.  Shame on us.

Lastly, his hair loss.  Poor thing.  We took him in for this little issue awhile ago as well and all they could say is that it might be stress related.  Strange.  Anyway, we got him some stuff to put on his dinner each night to help and it's been working.  We officially ran out and learned that the replacement bottle is going to run $60 and will last about 3-4 months at a time.  That might seem reasonable to some of you, but that's not his only expense each month.

I'm not sure why I took the time to vent about Tank because I'm obsessed with him, but I guess I've just been feeling a little more tired than usual so all of these incidents seem monumental at the time.

What I can say is that writing this blog reaffirms that I'm content with just one dog (for now) despite getting the below photo from Tank's former home that they have a new and final litter.