Violet 💖

I love my baby so much, even if she isn’t the angel I want her to be. She runs off, kills animals, starts fights with her brother, and probably other things that I’m either not aware of, or just aren’t coming to mind currently. But she’s still my dog, my baby, and I love her deeply. Nothing could ever, EVER change that.

Last year was an interesting first year for both of us. It was a lot of new experience, and challenges. I know now that having a dog is a bigger responsibility than I could have ever imagined, both mentally, and physically. Even with that though, I would have never changed my decision to make her mine.

She might be a bad girl at times, but she is still only a puppy, who is testing her boundaries just like a child would do. She is also just a dog. I’m not saying she’s stupid -dogs are definitely not stupid-, but she doesn’t have a human brain either. I can’t expect her to just understand something, because I say or do it. But she’s also a living, feeling, creature.

We had two really big experiences last year, one good, and the other bad. I’m going to start with the bad, just to get it out of the way.

While I was asleep, my baby decided that it was a good idea to tree our only neighbors favorite cat. I must disagree with her on this being a good idea. My dad was trekking through the forest, trying to figure out what they were barking out, when he found them. Well, this gave Violet the courage to do her most horrid deed.

I was later told that she jumped, basically climbing up the tree to scare the cat down, and then she and her bother, Benny, cornered the poor creature. I’m sure you all can guess what happened next. And sure enough, far to soon, the poor cat was forever gone.

It’s a sad tale, and I feel even worse because my dog did it, but it’s her nature! How on earth is she to know that killing a pet cat is any different than killing a wild animal? Dog’s aren’t perfect, and neither are we. Why are we to judge their mistakes, caused by their nature, when we do the same things, which are even worse sometimes.

Violet might be a dog, but she is a living thing. God gave us power over all living things because he trusted us. He knew that we could care for them, and respect them. So that’s how I will treat my dog. Just because she makes horrible mistakes, doesn’t mean she is any less worthy of my love and respect.

As you might be able to tell, I’m a bit angry as I write this. It’s kind of a story, but I will tell it.

After the cat incident, we installed an electric fence so they wouldn’t be able to run away. In all honesty, it doesn’t really work, even with the shock turned all the way up. And I was -and still am- not a big fan of it. Shocking our dogs just to keep them contained feels inhumane and cruel, but I could see then that it was a necessity.

Now, I’m not so sure.

This morning, while I was again sleeping in, my family went on a walk with all of our dogs. As Violet does more often than not, she ran off, but this time was different. My dad had been threatening to use the shock remote on her when she ran away, and this time he did. My mom said they could here Violet scream, and that she came running back.

I am so freaking mad, and upset right now. I want to punch him, while cursing in his face, but I’m not going to do that. One, because it’s not right, and two, because he’s my dad. That doesn’t have any affect on my anger though, and I’m at a loss for what to do. I can’t exactly just tell him to never do it again. He’s my parent, and I don’t have any authority over him.

So, yeah…

Please understand that I’m not trying to make my dad out as a horrible, mean, coldhearted, guy. He just did something that I feel in my heart isn’t right. He love dogs just as much as anyone does in my family, he just doesn’t always know how to show it in the kindest way.

Anyways, I should move on to a something a bit more upbeat. 🙃

As I’ve probably mentioned before, my dog and I won Reserve Grand Champion in our 4H dog show!! I am sooooooooo, happy, and proud of her. I know she wasn’t really a fan, but she still did great. I thought about doing it again this year, but decided against it. I already have summer plans, and I want to get a job.

That’s really all I have to say for now, even though I could most likely go one forever! I love my baby, my angel, so much, and I can’t wait to face what knew experiences and challanges taht our waiting ahead of us in this new year.

-Mae Blackwood