Must Love Dogs

Time for an unpopular opinion post (although probably everyone who actually reads my blog will agree).

I got a little furbaby just a few weeks before I met my husband. I love her to bits. I've always been a huge animal lover and left to my own devices, I'd probably have a million of them.

Just look at that sweet little face!

My husband is not an animal lover. If left to his own devices, we would never own a pet ever. So Molly was an issue when we became engaged. We had some serious talks about whether or not to keep her. The thought of giving her up ripped me in half (and ultimately Trevor decided we could keep her), but I considered it because as much as I love her, I believe getting married is more important than having a dog.

As much as I love Molly, I love my husband more.

You wouldn't think that this would be a controversial opinion (and I know among my few blog readers, it is not) but holy cow, it can be. As we were working through our different opinions on pets, I thought, "We can't be the only couple that disagree on this" and off I went to consult the wisdom of Google. You'd be surprised how many posts there are out there urging people to prioritize pets over significant others. So many advice sites where people described situations similar to mine and were advised to end their relationship with the human, and in some cases, even their marriages, because their fur babies should come first.

I am writing this because just today I came across such a post--a married woman with two dogs and a husband that can't stand them. She asked for advice in resolving the situation. Overwhelmingly, people were advising her to divorce him and go find an animal lover instead. What the heck? I normally don't post out in the webs to random strangers, but I wrote in encouraging her to try to work through this difference. See a counselor, take a marriage class, try to take the other person's perspective. See if you can compromise! Some people don't like animals, and there is nothing wrong with that. It doesn't make them bad people.

I mean I love dogs, and I've always been taught that pets are for life. You keep them until their dying day and do your best to give them a good, happy life. But MARRIAGE IS FOREVER. Marriage is a much more serious commitment than adopting an animal. You do not dump your husband because he's not getting along with your dogs. How could anyone really consider that? But apparently it's not uncommon. How have we reached a point where people commit more to their pets than to their marriages?

I know everyone is not like that... Just... Argh. I hope my post to this lady today made a little difference. It probably didn't, but I had to try.