Recovering mom doesn’t want dog at home

Dear Amy: For the past 2-1⁄2 years my son (now 9) has been asking for a dog. I’ve been saying no because, while I like dogs, I prefer them in other people’s houses.

Four months ago, I had a brain aneurysm. Thankfully, I am OK and recovering. However, during my recovery in the hospital I thought I was dying and that it would be a good idea for my son to have a dog to love and care for in the event that I did die.

Unfortunately, my husband took me at my word and told our son I said yes, and then we got this dog. Now I’m saddled with a dog I don’t want.

I work from home about 60 percent of the time, and so it falls on me to walk her twice a day. My husband/ son do it the rest of the time.

I’m not happy about this. I would like to responsibly re-home her, but I don’t know how to discuss this with my son. He loves this dog and I’m afraid that if I re-home her he will never forgive me.

I don’t want to damage my relationship with him but I am unhappy with this dog in my house. Can you help me with a suggestion on how to approach this — or how to cope? Dear Not-Woof: This is tricky because your health still seems to be somewhat shaky. But understand, too, that your near-death experience will have affected your son in profound and possibly traumatic ways. This dog may be important to him even beyond the normal child-dog devotion, because of what your family has been through. This dog is not expendable. Giving it away now could have a profound impact on your son.

I hope you can give this more time and explore common-sense ways to ease this burden for you. If there is a nearby kennel, “doggy daycare,” or experienced pet sitter, perhaps your husband could drop off the dog during the day for three or four days a week and you could pick her up at the end of your workday. This would give you privacy, and might give the dog some important canine interaction during the day. Hiring a dog-walker would also give you a much-welcome break from this disruption.

It sounds as if your husband and son are stepping up when they are home, which is great.

It is imperative that your husband work with you and support your efforts. Re-homing the dog should be a mutual decision.