A Quarter of His Life

I mentioned how bad I feel about keeping my 3-month-old puppy confined and denying him to jump, run, climb and much of his play time.

The person I was speaking with matter-of-factly stated that it was better to crate him for one day than mess up his leg forever and he wouldn't remember it anyway.

It really bothered me. First, I always think it's ludicrous when people say the baby won't remember, the puppy won't remember. I have no idea what puppies remember. With human babies, I decided that I would try to provide colorful, varied experiences even if they can't remember. My child would be completely different if I had kept them in the closet for the first 3 years. Even though they can't remember the first three years now.

Second, it isn't for one day. It's for one month. At 4 months old he will have spent one-quarter of his life recovering from this injury. That's huge!

I know that I don't have any other choices but I feel totally justified in empathizing with his whimpering.