Our last dog passed away from kidney disease last month. CC the bichon frise was 14 and adopted when she was a year old. She survived 3 other adopted dogs. My husband and I grieved this loss and decided not to get another dog. The joy and laughter she, Ed, Oreo and Daniel brought to us were immeasurable. But the joy came with responsibility, not as great as raising children but yet a responsibility. We had to be home to let the dogs out, feed and exercise them. If we wanted to go away we had to find a dog sitter. We took them for veterinary appointments, bought special food and administered medications. We lost sleep when they were ill. So now we’re continually asked when were getting another dog, which would be two dogs since we believe dogs need company. We’ve decided we want to be free of any responsibility except for the responsibility for each other. We’ve reached middle age, time when we need to focus on long term care planning for ourselves without other distractions. I look fondly at people walking dogs, driving with them in cars and taking them to parks. Maybe someday we’ll have dogs again, just not today
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