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Our dog situation is definitely “yours, mine, and ours.” Superman was mine for years, Nellie was Colton’s right after we started dating, and we got Denim two months before we got married. They are our kids. No discussion. But let me justify why that is…

They have individual personalities

Superman is a momma’s boy through and through.His herding instinct is strong, and he wants to herd everything from goats to chickens, and from my dad’s beagle to children. He needs a job and is also my child that gets bored very easy. When bored, his activity of choice is to dig holes. We’ve all been victim of falling into a Superman hole, my sister more than anyone. He spent the first 6 years of life road tripping with me almost every weekend, but now if in the truck any longer than an hour he starts dramatically sighing in the backseat.

Nellie is so human-like it’s scary. She is very sketchy about strangers, and usually won’t stop barking at them until Colton has talked to the stranger and told her they were okay. But once she knows you, she loves you. She would spend all day in her recliner if we’d let her, but she also loves to be a shop dog. She thinks she helps. She knows when you have milk or a chocolate chip cookie, and has the most expressive looks I’ve ever seen a dog give.

And then there’s Denim Dog. Oh Denim Dog. The typical baby of the family. She loves her brother and sister to the point she gets on their nerves. She thinks the rules don’t apply to her. She usually gets what she wants. Denim is for sure our dog, and she really doesn’t want to be with anyone else. She gets separation anxiety when she has to stay with her Nanaw and Pawpaw and hides under their bed. I’m pretty sure this dog would ride in a truck across the world with us too. Her favorite word is “Go,” but she is a homebody that wants to sleep in her own bed every night.

They go to daycare

I hate to leave my dogs inside, by themselves,for long periods of time. So luckily, since my mom works from her home shop a lot, I’ll drop them off at Nanaw’s for daycare. There, they can play with her dogs, stay outside most of the day, but still get a nap in the air conditioning on Mom’s lunch break. The few times Colton and I go on a trip and they can’t go with us, we also have to make arrangements for them to have a sleepover.Superman and Nellie are usually excited about this. Denim does not approve.

They have medical emergencies

I will say this category pretty much is focused on Nellie, however the other two have a story or two as well. When Nellie was 3 months old she got stepped on by a horse. It was traumatic for all of us. She ended up with a badly broken leg in two spots, and a terrible infection.It was weeks upon weeks of cleaning, doctoring, wrapping, and so on. Bless her heart, a few years later she shattered her hip socket, and had to have a FHO,where basically they take the ball off her ball and socket joint and let scar tissue form a new joint.

There’s also been several nights of little to no sleep because of the dogs.Upset stomachs have had me getting up to let them out every half hour. When Nellie was injured, I slept in the living room with her on a pallet.

The point is, emotionally and financially, we have to deal with these emergencies, just like with children. And just like with children, these accidents rarely occur during normal office hours.

I have to clean up after them

Bless it, dog hair will one day be the death of me. I could vacuum three times a day and still not have it under control. Colton threatens to shave them at least once a month. It’s everywhere. You cannot get rid of it. It has now become a fashion statement. 

Legit: this is the best brush I have found. It’s cheap ($7 on Amazon) and it works. 

Not only is it the everyday hair and dirt, but it’s the accidents. I’ll be the first to admit, we were lucky because all three of our dogs potty trained super easy. However, just like with a newly trained toddler, sometimes there are accidents. Most of the time it’s because they ate something they weren’t supposed to, and since Colton has a weak stomach when it comes to this area,the job usually falls on me.

Full disclosure before you read the next sentence, stop now if you have a weak stomach. Denim ate a whole rabbit carcass the cats had drug up on the porch a few weeks ago. She then proceeded to regurgitate the entire, unchewed carcass onto my rug. I have a strong stomach. I’ve cleaned up some gross things in my day. I gagged. Hard.

Because we treat them like they are

I cannot count the number of times I’ve been told “Dogs are nothing like having kids.” I don’t know if because I’m 30 with 3 dogs and no kids, or because I talk about my dogs all the time, but people feel the need to tell me this constantly. But here’s the thing: our dogs are similar to having kids, because we treat them like our kids!We talk to them (and if you don’t think dogs communicate back, you need to meet our dogs), we care for them, we play with them, and in turn, they love us unconditionally. 

Don’t judge me, I won’t judge you

Do I think everyone’s dogs are like kids? No. Do I think I know everything about raising kids because I’ve raised dogs? Absolutely not. Do I think I can love, talk to, and treat my dogs like my babies? Definitely. Do I think some people should have to prove their ability to raise a dog before being allowed to have children? Well, that’s a discussion for another time.