Animal Cruelty?

As I contemplate the past week a familiar (and slightly annoying) song comes to mind; "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette. As many of you know, Matt left for TX on Wednesday & will be gone for 6 weeks. I have been trying to prepare myself mentally to be able to take on all the tasks of daily living by myself for a while. I know it is possible & that things will be fine after an adjustment period. However, Buckley-our "adorable" little dog had his own plans for my first week alone.

Buckley is just a few days shy of being 7 months old & hasn't completely grasped the idea of being house trained. I will admit that he has gotten a lot better & has started to give me a few signals here and there when he needs to go out for a potty break. Things seemed to be on the up and up with that whole situation until one day he decided to come down with a case of diareah. (Now is when you should be scrunching your nose in disgust, thinking something like, "Ugh! GROSS", or dry heaving-my personal favorite)

The first clue that led me to this fabulous realization was when Trinity informed me that Buckley had just pooped in the hallway.
"Pick it up with a tissue & flush it down the toilet", I told her.
"No!, It's juicy!", was her quick reply.
FIVE more messes would follow that afternoon & I began to seriously question my decision making skills. Hadn't I known this was part of taking on a pet? How irresponsible could I have been? I got sucked into those puppy eyes & that cute little wet nose just as fast, if not faster, than the kids!! Redemption had come. With a vengeance!

I made it through the day feeling as frazzled as I looked and finally got everyone to sleep. As I lay in bed I wondered how I would make it through another day of "doggy diareah". I was awakened all too soon facing that exact question. Enter Trinity:
"Mom, I hate to tell you this, but Buckley pooped in his cage." I decided to act like a real adult and stay in bed. I knew what I would face as soon as I got up & I just wasn't ready to handle it. Two minutes later; Enter Brinley:
"Mom! (as she is holding her nose) Buckley has a STINKY SMELL. Change him!" I didn't say a word. I stared at her blankly & nodded my head slightly. That bought me a few more seconds. Then Grayden came strutting in the room. "Hi Buddy!" I said to him. He is usually so happy in the mornings & loves to climb into bed and pester me by honking my nose. Today all he had to say was, "EEeewwwww!" I got the message loud and clear-it was time to deal with Buckley.

The next three mornings played out like a scene from Groundhog's Day(also an annoying movie)with one or all of the kids coming to my bedside complaining that Buckley had pooped in his cage again. The routine was getting so familiar, but not any less revolting. I'd pick the entire cage up, with the dog inside, and stick it in the bathtub. His bedding would go into the washer for an extra hot, second spin added, scrub. When that was done I'd run the washer empty with nothing but hot water and Clorox. Meanwhile, Buckley would be soaking in his cage in a tub of warm water & dog shampoo. I took him out & continued to clean all the nasty-ness from his cage. Thank goodness for shower hoses! After I hauled the wet cage out of the bathroom I then began the tub scrub down. Clorox wipes, followed by a tub full of hot water and more Clorox. (Trinity constantly complaining that the house smelled like a swimming pool. An awesome alternative to dog poop if you ask me!) Then to finish it of I'd lay Clorox wipes on the floor and "skate" around the bathroom floor to make sure there were no lingering nasties.

All other activities are now a blur. I feel like the past few days have been overtaken by POOP! I finally made the decision to stop giving Buckley "bedding" to sleep on, and actually ended up throwing away three towels because I couldn't stomach the thought of putting anymore poop into the washing machine! As I sit here typing I can hear Buckley in his cage. He is whining at me. It can't be that he needs to go out, because I just took him. Is it possible that he misses his soft bedding? I am actually feeling a little guilty! How crazy is that. I know that animal cruelty is a real problem & that him spending the night without any padding probably doesn't qualify, but I have to ask; is there such a thing as a pet being cruel to their person?! If so, I'm making myself a T-Shirt. It will say, "I am a victim of pet owner cruelty." Then underneath it in larger print, "GOT CLOROX?"

(Congratulations if you read this whole thing & thanks for letting me complain! Don't worry, we are keeping Buckley...For now)