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General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Ethical Question - please help
« on: December 04, 2005, 05:58:27 pm »
I've posted before - Digger is my baby - but because of her age/health (15 and bad hips) she stayed with my dad (and her buddy, farfel) in NY. It's been a year, and the heartache is really getting to me.
I wan't so badly to have her here, or, in a case that I am at odds with, perhaps get another dog. I'm in Maryland on a 2nd floor apt. No yard, sunny balcony, but a helluva flight of stairs.
Here's the ethical question - in 2 parts. In Terms of Karma, how much universal damage to my core would I be doing by getting another dog while my best friend is still alive. Would it be like i was replacing her? Finding a cute little wiggler to love, other than my lab/chow/newf mix? I just feel like it would make me a bad parent. I didn't abandon her...in NY - she had my dad, a giant yard and another dog - and my dad is semi-retired.
Second Part. How cruel is it to put a dog in a 2nd floor apt, (1200sq feet - not tiny, but still) I know people who have smallish dogs, and they actually train them to go in a litter-box type thing, but bigger, more like an indoor sandbox. I'm gone for 11 hours a day....and I wouldn't even have a dog walker. So a puppy is out of the question - but regarding a rescue...could a dog go 10-11 hours a day with no one there? Is rescuing a dog and putting it in that situation worse than leaving it where it is?
I've taken some walks at a dog park lately, so i can get my fix. I'm guessing this is my best option...short of finding people who will let me come over and play with their dogs on weekends...
I've had a rough few years. Friends, my mom, my grandmother have all passed away - i'm just feeling horridly alone...but I don't want to make a situation worse for a dog...
Any suggestions? I think I've answered my own questions - but he** - maybe someone can toss me an answer - - are there any 40lb rabbits that do ok indoors?
Thanks for your time. - Thanks to you all!!!
I wan't so badly to have her here, or, in a case that I am at odds with, perhaps get another dog. I'm in Maryland on a 2nd floor apt. No yard, sunny balcony, but a helluva flight of stairs.
Here's the ethical question - in 2 parts. In Terms of Karma, how much universal damage to my core would I be doing by getting another dog while my best friend is still alive. Would it be like i was replacing her? Finding a cute little wiggler to love, other than my lab/chow/newf mix? I just feel like it would make me a bad parent. I didn't abandon her...in NY - she had my dad, a giant yard and another dog - and my dad is semi-retired.
Second Part. How cruel is it to put a dog in a 2nd floor apt, (1200sq feet - not tiny, but still) I know people who have smallish dogs, and they actually train them to go in a litter-box type thing, but bigger, more like an indoor sandbox. I'm gone for 11 hours a day....and I wouldn't even have a dog walker. So a puppy is out of the question - but regarding a rescue...could a dog go 10-11 hours a day with no one there? Is rescuing a dog and putting it in that situation worse than leaving it where it is?
I've taken some walks at a dog park lately, so i can get my fix. I'm guessing this is my best option...short of finding people who will let me come over and play with their dogs on weekends...
I've had a rough few years. Friends, my mom, my grandmother have all passed away - i'm just feeling horridly alone...but I don't want to make a situation worse for a dog...
Any suggestions? I think I've answered my own questions - but he** - maybe someone can toss me an answer - - are there any 40lb rabbits that do ok indoors?
Thanks for your time. - Thanks to you all!!!