1. Why?
Why did I become sir Oliver's granny?
My daughter wanted a dog for many years, and we as a family were not yet convinced that a dog would be the right thing to do, at that point in our life. Since I've always been convinced that I am a cat lover, I automatically closed the door to become a dog lover. Dogs had never played a major role in my life, except for the big dog my brother and I had to walk by going to school. We were afraid for that dog even though he was standing behind a fence. I tried to keep calm to not upset my baby brother, through the tone was set, between me and dogs. So I became a cat lover and basta.
So what I did to solve the issue with my daughter wanting a dog, was getting our family a few cats. Diverting her attention from wanting a dog and introducing 3 super cute kittens. She liked it, as she likes almost every animal on the planet. However her desire for a dog did not disappear.
At age 14 my daughter her body collapsed with chronic Lyme disease and we went on a roller coaster through the medical arena, the alternative medical arena and finding out ourselves what's the best thing to do. At age 19 my daughter had tried many things and nothing was solving the issue. She and we were almost wanting to give up. The disease is not acknowledged in our country and it is hard to get the right care and being able to pay for it. And then we found out about the "Lee Cowden Protocol". After almost 9 months doing the protocol she is finally able to take part in normal life again. We're celebrating life again with her!
During her illness the desire for a dog became even stronger. I could see how a dog could benefit her, I could also see that she wasn't able to take the responsibility for a dog. So basically we had to be the main caretakers, which was not that easy or practical at that time. As well as my strong belief about being a cat lover and simply not being capable to become a dog lover as well.
Since my daughter is taking part of daily living again, she started seeking for ways to have her own dog. She was quite clear on the point that she wanted a dog from an animal shelter that needed a new caring owner. On this search she found a website where they offered the adoption of a lab dog. The more she read about it the more she knew this is the way to proceed. She introduced the idea to the rest of the family and once I understood we were talking about having a Beagle, I was sold. I was sad at the same time knowing that we, as a society, are still in need for laboratory animals and that Beagles are chosen to be guinea pigs due to their high pain barrier. It made me sick and guilty at the same time. I had to come to terms with those feelings first, I did not want to invite such a dog into my home based on feelings of pity. So I did some research to get a broader perspective on lab testing to see that we will be walking the consequences of animal lab testing until we can use other measurements to test medicines and medical procedures. So the best thing to do now for people who care, is to take care of the dogs that are released from these laboratories.
After a few months and a holiday, we as a family, decided that our daughter could have her dog. We started a process with the lab Beagle foundation and were invited to a meeting about having a lab dog. That was very informative and we were still wanting to proceed. So then we got a house call from one of the contributors of the foundation. They do this to see the people in their own environment and check if the family is ready and if the house/garden is suited for the dog. We passed the test and were allowed to go and see a dog that they thought would be suitable for us. My daughter asked for a bit older dog, we saw that most people were like magnets to the puppies and the puppies were relocated very fast to new owners. So she could see that the older dogs were far more in need and less likely to get a loving home. The dog she liked was 5 years old and already 9 months released from the lab. Due to not being adopted yet he had been transferred after 7 months to a boarding kennel to wait for his new owner.
In my next blog I will share about our trip to the boarding kennel.