IT’S CHRISTMAS, USE YOUR HEAD…THINK ABOUT IT 100 TIMES BEFORE GETTING A DOG
It’s Christmas, the season of good will. Love it or loathe it, beyond its commercial motivations it’s a festivity we all tend to be affected by, as it inspires us to be more loving, generous and good. Christmas stories always have a happy ending, and even though many of us find them irritating, most of us love them. For a few days each year we need to feel we are better people, we need to forget about the things that are not going well, we need to believe that Dickens was right. Remember Scroodge, the main character in A Christmas Carol? A nasty, mean, stingy man. And yet at Christmas he discovers the beauty of generosity and solidarity. Now, whether we like it or not, this is how it is for many people. Some people, inspired by this climate of good will, do beautiful things which last, because they are brought about by intelligence as well as love. Others, overcome by momentary, passing emotions do stupid things. Among the stupid things that one could do, one of the stupidest is to buy a dog as a gift – a sentient being, that is, a life – without having carefully considered the consequences of this act. It’s even stupider to adopt a rescued dog, that is a being who has already suffered, without understanding that a rescued dog is even more of a forever dog. Because each separation makes him suffer deeply, and makes him wonder “what is wrong with me?”. If you have already reflected deeply and at length about it, if you have understood that a dog will not only change your life but turn it upside down, if you are prepared to make real sacrifices in your life rather than be separated from your dog, then do it, whether it’s Christmas or not. Don’t pull back, because it is an experience of love and devotion which is well worth living. But if your urge is just dictated by a generic ‘Christmas spirit’ then leave well alone: you will still be giving these souls a worthwhile Christmas gift, that of not being abandoned when it’s time to put away the Christmas tree and decorations.Tags: adopt rescue dog, adoption, buy a dog as a gift, Christmas, greyhounds, rescue