Today I did something I found I should be doing a lot more of. My smaller children had a question and I followed it through with them to find the real life answer right in the moment it was in the fore front of their little minds.. It was an awesome experience helping them learn a lesson in responsibility, and in the process I learned my own lesson about how I can be doing more things like this as a mom to teach them.

When my three year old son and I arrived to pick his four year old sister up from preschool today we noticed a beautiful chocolate lab wandering in the front lot of the school. We also spotted a police officer in hot pursuit of said collar-less puppy. When My four year old Cierra joined us she was very curious about what was happening as the officer corralled the dog into his car.

“Mom is that dog gonna be arrested? Did he do something wrong so the police man is chasing him?”

No, dogs don’t go to a jail like you are thinking. I bet that officer is taking him to the local dog pound.

“Why does he have to go to the dog pound? Doesn’t he belong to somebody?”

Well he may belong to somebody, but he either got away from them, or they have not been responsible in taking care of him and he is running free with no leash or collar and tags. When that happens they take the dog to the pound till his original owner or a new owner can be found.

“Is the pound in the jail mom?”

Ok the wheels in both their heads were turning away, but not getting completely out of the garage here, so I decided to take them on a little “Mommy field-trip” to let them see first hand what was happening to Mr. Puppy. Luckily the pound is very close and I have a friend who works there as well so we loaded into the van and went over to see the processing of the captured pup.

When we got there the kids were very impressed with all the neat rows of cages, but they noticed right away that none were empty. Where would the new fellow go? The lady at the desk explained that two older dogs who had been there for awhile would be “leaving” them today, followed by a grimace that told me it was not for a “new home” (ugh, that is an explanation I can leave till they are older right?). The little guys were excited that they had puppies and also there were many cats in their own special area. I explained about caring for your animal and how a dog or cat can end up at the pound. We also talked about the losses involved for the pets and their owners, and how this could happen to anyone. I tried to express how being responsible for our animals can protect them from the pound, but not always. Every pet runs the risk of ending up at the pound, even if they did nothing wrong. Their little brains were clicking. After looking around for a bit they decided that some of the barkers were becoming too hard on the ears so they were ready to head home for some lunch.

As we were leaving a young man at the desk was asking about the fee so he could collect his dog that someone had found and brought in to the pound. He was disheartened to learn it would cost him Ninety dollars to spring his dog from the facility. The fellow did not have the funds and left saying he would try to borrow some and be back for his dog later in the day. The kids noticed this interaction and were worried he might not be able to get a “loan at the bank” as Cierra put it (I see another Mommy field-trip here...) So we left a few dollars under the dogs name to help him out when he returned.

What a great afternoon! I just wish I had brought my camera to capture some of the little day trip we took. Now I think my kids have a better idea about something going on in the world, and wow because of Mom! Now THIS is what I signed on for! This is what I wanted to do when I became an adoptive parent. Feeling like you have direction, love and guidance to share is something every adoptive parent must think about as they consider becoming a family. I am one of the lucky ones who has been blessed with the opportunity to share three times over! Some days it just leaves me feeling like the luckiest dog on the planet!

Note: Because my friend, who is also an adoptive parent, understands how it feels to be blessed to build your family (of humans) in this way, our local pound does not talk of pet “Adoption” when soliciting new “Ownership” for the animals in it’s care. Way to go guys!

Resources

Losses and gains, risks and vulnerability

The Number One Rule for all Parents

Working at Family