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By LAURIE C. WILLIAMS
For the Stafford County Sun

Whenever I meet someone who claims to not like dogs (yes, those people do exist — unbelievably so!), I will usually press to find out the reason why. Sometimes they confess that it isn’t that they don’t like them, but more so that they find them needy and demanding of too much attention. For those people I say bravo. I’m glad they realize this before getting a dog!

And then there are the people who prefer cats, which again is fine by me. Cats certainly have their own unique charm and are definitely more self-sufficient. However I’ve found that quite a few people who dislike dogs are merely suffering from displaced anger. They often hold dogs accountable for infractions and crimes that should be attributed to their corresponding human. Living and working with dogs on a daily basis, I can concur that some dogs truly do have habits that are downright annoying. Hey, I wouldn’t have a job if that weren’t the case! But we usually can’t blame the dog for this. Most often he’s just being a dog and ends up the scapegoat for lack of proper “petiquette” on his human’s part.

Let’s face it, dog’s do not have a moral code. They are animals that do whatever comes naturally and feels good. If it smells good, a dog will sniff it — a lot! If it tastes good, a dog will gobble it up as fast as he can. If a dog needs to eliminate, he’ll likely do it, right there, on the spot, unless he is prevented from doing so or has been taught to do it somewhere else. Anything left on the floor or out in the open is fair game to a dog, and if not stopped he may just chew it or tear it into shreds. Why? Because it’s fun! And that includes your brand new Coach purse, and further he’ll likely have the time of his life doing it! After all, the dog behaviors we find most annoying are perfectly natural and often instinctual to a dog such as barking, digging, jumping up and pulling.

And yet when a dog does these things, we look at him like he’s an alien thinking, “Where did you come from and why on earth would you do such a thing?” We forget that dogs were bred to bark, dig, jump and pull, but unfortunately somewhere along the way we stopped using dogs for what they were bred for and now want them to stop.

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By LAURIE C. WILLIAMS
For the Stafford County Sun

Let me start out by saying there is a huge difference between owning a pet and loving a pet. When you merely own your pet, you likely consider him to be an obligation, a piece of property (shudder), disposable and maybe even a nuisance. While you do provide the necessities for that pet’s wellbeing, you put forth the bare minimum and sometimes do so begrudgingly. But even the minimum financial costs are not minimal, especially in a struggling economy.

Feeding a pet can vary widely depending on the type of pet, the size and the quality of the food, but even still it is an expense that could range from $10 to $100 or more a month.

Basic health care is a little easier to pre-determine. For instance, every dog and cat requires annual exams ($40 to $50), immunizations ($50-plus a year), flea preventative ($100 per year) and since we are discussing responsible pet ownership, the one-time cost of spaying and neutering ($100 to $400) must be factored in.

If your pet becomes ill, that can bump prices up considerably. And again, since we are discussing being responsible, surely that means getting your pet the medical attention he needs in order to save his life.

Then there could be grooming costs as well, unless you’ve chosen a breed of dog or cat that doesn’t require anything other than routine bathing. Otherwise, professional grooming for pets that are a little higher maintenance and require haircuts, periodic trims and styling from an expert could run you $50 to $100 every six to eight weeks.

Lastly, there are the extras such as collars, leashes, toys, treats, crates, bedding, at-home grooming supplies and occasional boarding fees. This could run anywhere from $200 to $1,000 per year.

So a ballpark estimate could be $1,000 to $5,000 or more per year just for owning a pet.

But what about loving a pet? How much does that cost?

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From our dear friend Laurie Williams of GAD, writer for The Stafford County Sun >

By LAURIE WILLIAMS

Some of you may have gotten the opportunity to watch the CBS reality show this summer, “Greatest American Dog,” which I had the pleasure of participating in with my dog Andrew.

It was a reality show where twelve pairs of owners and their dogs competed in weekly challenges that eliminated pairs and ultimately chose a winner.  The challenges ranged from agility-type obstacles courses, to dogs dancing, painting and even running under elephants!  But do any of those tests really show what a “great dog” is?  Is there any one test that can determine something as objective as that?  Is greatness even definable or measurable?  I’m not so sure.

What’s great to one person may not be to another, and vice versa.  For some, a great dog is one that can do a gazillion different tricks like ride a skateboard, play a tiny piano, fetch a beer from the fridge, or bark in different languages!  For others a great dog is one that is truly a good canine citizen, obedient with good manners, can be taken out in public virtually anywhere and not be a nuisance, is friendly and polite toward other dogs and strangers, even the mailman. Many consider a dog that has achieved competitive sports titles, scales walls, climbs ladders, retrieves dumbbells and flies through weave poles as great.  And let’s not forget about the dogs that actually have “jobs” and assist mankind by performing duties such as police dogs, service dogs, therapy dogs, and search and rescue. There are dogs trained to detect cancer cells and alert their owners of impending seizures. Those are inarguably incredible feats.  But even still, what about the dog that happily greets his owner at the door after a really bad day at work?  Sure the dog may be obnoxiously jumping on the owner while doing so, but he is also giving that unconditional love and approval when it’s needed the most.  Just try and tell that owner he doesn’t have the greatest dog in the world!  Right now as you’re reading this, is there a dog curled up by your feet?  If so, come on, that’s a great dog, right?

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