Sunday, April 20, 2008

Your Child Brought Home A Dog

Title: Your Child Brought Home A Dog
Author: Jonathon Hardcastle

Although growing up you were fortunate to have a pet friend,
its loss did make you suffer greatly and you decided not to risk
exposing your kids to the same experience of them having to cope
one day with the loss of their animal friend. But, life always
finds a way to surprise you when you least expect it and one
evening your son or daughter might enter the house accompanied
by a stray dog. You will probably think that this is a very bad
idea, but your son's eyes will beg you to reconsider and allow
his new friend to stay "Please, just for a few days; until we
find someone who wants to adopt it." Now you know how that story
will go. The days will pass and your new visitor will still be
in your house, messing around with your shoes and licking his
plate all the way from the kitchen floor to the living-room
carpet creating a mess. But when he will put his head on your
lap for you to touch it on the head, you will catch yourself
smiling and thinking that this is not a bad idea after all.
Well, it is certainly not.

Researchers have found evidence suggesting that kids who grow
up having a pet companion learn a lot from this relationship.
The connection formed is not only beneficial to the animal, but
also to the child. Kids that have pets become responsible sooner
and behave proactively. These are just two of the positive
outcomes your child will experience from your decision to allow
a "stranger" to enter your house. The lessons a child will learn
from being close to an animal can have a tremendous effect to
its personality and behavior; today and in the future. Having to
take the dog out for a walk, visiting the veterinarian's office
every six months, washing the dog or playing with it, will not
only be some of your kid's future cherished memories, but also
some rather life-changing experiences.

Only good can come out from your child learning to be
respectful and affectionate to an animal. By living with a dog,
your child will for the first time in his or her life learn what
it feels like to take care of another living-soul. Moreover, the
happiness and comfort such a relationship will bring to your
kid's life cannot be easily ignored or compared with anything
else he or she will later decide to experience. Respecting
someone else's needs and thinking of their well-being are
extremely important lessons for the formation of your child's
future character and you will be later thanked for being
tolerant and supportive.

Do not be intimidated from the fact that your child will
consider his or her new pet friend just like he or she does with
a new toy; fun and wonderful at the beginning, annoying and
boring later. This is actually your chance to teach your child
what it means to love unconditionally and to protect one's life.
From the trips to the nearby park to your family's summer
vacations, your child will have a first-hand experience on how
rewarding and fulfilling it can be to cultivate such an intimate
relationship and what it entails to keep it flourishing and
rewarding.

Finally, the risk of loosing the dog, or the reality that it
will one day die, cannot be underestimated. It is true that kids
become psychologically attached to their pets, but so do adults.
There is no easy way to say goodbye to a beloved companion, but
no bigger lesson exists there in life. Understanding what death
is, learning to accept it, and finding ways to cope with it, are
not processes one has to go through when he or she is an adult.
Perhaps then it will be too difficult for your child to become
conscious of the loss.

Pets can be the most fulfilling experience a kid can have and
it is always time to open your door and your soul to that stray
dog he or she will bring in. Life gives no guarantees that
happiness and bliss will last forever. Nevertheless, your kid
will become a better individual if he or she is given a chance
to experience life through the eyes of a dog.

About The Author: Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles for
http://ipetcentral.net/ - In addition, Jonathon also writes
articles for http://supershoppingtips.com/ and
http://lookwhosshoppingnow.com/

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