My dog ate my wallet!
Brody is a border collie mix that was adopted as a rescue pet from the Darlington County Humane Society by Jade Longfellow and John Teuton of Hartsville. He is also one of the author’s Grand-Pups!
Photo by Jana E. Pye
By Jana E. Pye, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
Caring for our beloved dogs is becoming an American obsession. From grooming parlors to pet clothing, boarding centers to dog parks, our love for our four legged friends knows no bounds.
And caring for them is not always cheap!
Pet food, once relegated to generic sacks from the feed store and a small section of the local grocery store is now something that is a topic around the coffee shop, and social media.
Brody, pictured here, is 3 years old. He is a healthy chap that sometimes has a sensitive tummy, and has allergies to certain grasses.
“We have have found he doesn’t do well with many grains, so we give him food with a high percentage of protein,” say his owners, Jade Longfellow (who happens to be my daughter) and her boyfriend, John Teuton.
Brody also has an allergy to some grasses, which often lands him a trip to the veterinary office for medicated creams.
My neighbors, Jayne & Rudy Tyner own a small Yorkshire Terrier named Chance. Chance is an adorable little fellow, and keeping his spiffy puppy cut means frequent trips to the groomers.
“He’s our baby,” says Jayne. “We love to spoil him!”
That means coats and sweaters to keep him warm on walks, plenty of toys, and a special doggie bed just for him.
A new expense occurred for the Tyner family recently, when Chance developed a habit of stealing eyeglasses…and subsequently chewing them to bits.
“Between that, and him loving to run off to greet people – he’s so friendly! – we decided to take him to get some training.” said Jayne.
Believe it or not, dog training is not only for large Labrador retrievers. From celebrity pet trainers like Cesar Millan to right here in the Pee Dee, pet owners have found relief from learning how to train their dog to be a more polite member of the family.
When preparing this story for the paper, I looked around my own house for evidence of “pet spoiling” – and oh, do I fall into that category. My two cats have a tall carpeted climbing and napping station, two scratching posts, and a basket of catnip toys and balls with little bells. My dog, Taffy the Schnoodle, has a dog bed, a huge basket of toys, and enough clothes to rival a little girl’s doll trousseau.
I thought back to my Great Grandmother, a dyed-in-the-wool frugal Yankee. What would she have thought of this current doggie obsession?
“Dogs belong outdoors,” she used to say. “That’s why God made them with thick coats.”
But, Grammy didn’t know how cute dog photos on Instagram & Facebook would be!
And, for dog lovers like me, there is nothing like coming home to a dog that loves you.
