Ok, so you have been warned. What I am about to tell you is going to sound completely ridiculous, as if I've lost my mind...
On the retreat this weekend I learned that my new work day is much longer than I expected. From the time I leave my house until the time I return will run about 10 hours, and that doesn't include the work that I'll have to do at home, like grade, call parents, plan, etc. So now that I've been slapped back into teaching in a public school in the U.S., I've had the shocking revelation that I am going to be unable to be a good dog owner, never mind a good puppy owner. There is no way I can leave this curious, adorable pooch face alone for 10 hours a day.
After feeling miserable and disgusted with myself, I thought, hey, what about doggie day care or a dog walker. This is Denver, a big city, they must have all that stuff.
I came home and immediately got on google and started my search. I was right, there are several options for doggie day care and they are convenient for my drive to and from work. Ok. Now how much does this little service cost. You ready for this. Anywhere from $20-$30 PER DAY! Oh, but wait, they offer special rates if you buy a package. Ok, let's see... a 20 day package ranges from $360 to $470. WHAT? Wait, how many days would I need this service. Ok, so there are 5 days a week, 4 weeks in a month, ok, that's 20 days. So a month worth of doggie day care is around $400???? For a dog? For a month? What?
Next plan, let's look at a dog walking service. Someone that comes to your house and can be with your dog for 20, 30 up to 60 minutes. How much do you think that runs per visit? How about $18 PER VISIT. Seriously. I suppose that's a normal hourly wage for a professional, and you do want a trustworthy person coming to your house, but for real. This is for real.
Now I have this blanket of heavy, wet guilt. I brought this awesome, playful puppy back from the DR and she is my daughter. My biological mothering needs are being met with an adorable pooch face, and now I've set myself up so that I can't spend much time with her during the week. She would love doggie day care. She actually doesn't enjoy walking on a leash much at all. She'd rather run around and playing. I can totally see her fitting in and enjoying every minute. I could only send her once or twice a week, but then those other days what would she do? Even be more lonely, because she's had the taste of play?
Am I nuts? Now, I only work around 200 days per year and only around 180 or so are with students, so if you take those 200 days and divide by the 20 day package you get 10, and you take that 10 and multiply it by the cost of the package you get around $4,000.
Am I nut?
On the retreat this weekend I learned that my new work day is much longer than I expected. From the time I leave my house until the time I return will run about 10 hours, and that doesn't include the work that I'll have to do at home, like grade, call parents, plan, etc. So now that I've been slapped back into teaching in a public school in the U.S., I've had the shocking revelation that I am going to be unable to be a good dog owner, never mind a good puppy owner. There is no way I can leave this curious, adorable pooch face alone for 10 hours a day.
After feeling miserable and disgusted with myself, I thought, hey, what about doggie day care or a dog walker. This is Denver, a big city, they must have all that stuff.
I came home and immediately got on google and started my search. I was right, there are several options for doggie day care and they are convenient for my drive to and from work. Ok. Now how much does this little service cost. You ready for this. Anywhere from $20-$30 PER DAY! Oh, but wait, they offer special rates if you buy a package. Ok, let's see... a 20 day package ranges from $360 to $470. WHAT? Wait, how many days would I need this service. Ok, so there are 5 days a week, 4 weeks in a month, ok, that's 20 days. So a month worth of doggie day care is around $400???? For a dog? For a month? What?
Next plan, let's look at a dog walking service. Someone that comes to your house and can be with your dog for 20, 30 up to 60 minutes. How much do you think that runs per visit? How about $18 PER VISIT. Seriously. I suppose that's a normal hourly wage for a professional, and you do want a trustworthy person coming to your house, but for real. This is for real.
Now I have this blanket of heavy, wet guilt. I brought this awesome, playful puppy back from the DR and she is my daughter. My biological mothering needs are being met with an adorable pooch face, and now I've set myself up so that I can't spend much time with her during the week. She would love doggie day care. She actually doesn't enjoy walking on a leash much at all. She'd rather run around and playing. I can totally see her fitting in and enjoying every minute. I could only send her once or twice a week, but then those other days what would she do? Even be more lonely, because she's had the taste of play?
Am I nuts? Now, I only work around 200 days per year and only around 180 or so are with students, so if you take those 200 days and divide by the 20 day package you get 10, and you take that 10 and multiply it by the cost of the package you get around $4,000.
Am I nut?
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