8/21 Some observations

Ruby is doing well today. I feel the need to vent a little at the people who have different priorities in life than mine. This, in and of itself, is perfectly fine. But where do these folks get off telling me I shouldn't be spending so much money on an animal? "It's only a dog." Yes, but it's my dog. How is my taking care of my pet any different from someone else buying and maintaining a four-wheeler, snowmobile, cabin, or any number of other things? I don't have those things because I find them to be frivolous according to my wants and needs list. I'm sure not going to tell someone else that they shouldn't have them. If you add up the number of hours I will interact with and get love and enjoyment from my pet over her lifetime, I dare say that I'm getting a lot more value for the money than most people do with their hobbies or activities. Finally, it's not about monetary value. It's about love for my pet. Everything in society is so disposable these days. I see people buy a pet, put little or no effort into it's training, and then get rid of it when the experience isn't what they expected. How is that acceptable behavior and my taking care of my responsibilities to Ruby is a foolish waste of money? The answer is, it's not. I'm not happy about having to do this with her, but I'm sure not going to just cut and run when it gets bad. There, I don't really feel much better, but I got it out in print and that's something I guess.