7:09 p.m. - 2008-07-17
WTF???
That son of a bitch gave our dog to his bitch mother.
I am a cat person.
I found one dog that I loved. Here's how that happened:
My boss wanted me to go to his house to sort his receipts because neither he nor his wife are grownups but they are both rich and can hire admins to do that or whatever else they want them to do regardless of how much work there is to be done in the office on our real jobs (separate rant.)
My daughter was sick, and I felt it was more important to take care of her. Boss's Wife disagreed because she wanted the receipts out of her house and said I could bring my sick daughter with me. She threw up four times just on the 14 mile drive there.
(stupid me - should have said "screw you, i am taking my child home." stupid, stupid me.)
Boss's Wife put her dogs away, and I established Daughter on the couch with a blanket and a movie, stopping only to escort her to the hall bathroom and hold back her hair while she threw up again. Constant barking was heard from the sequestered dogs because they knew people were in their house without their permission. When Boss's Son came home, he had no idea we were there and the doors were shut to keep us separated. Long story short, boss's great Dane attacked and bit my daughter on the arm, resulting in an emergency room trip and 11 stitches. I am still grateful it ended up that well. In spite of the prominent scar above her elbow, my daughter's arm was protecting her throat.
(p.s. it took our insurance company 6 months to sort through all that - again a separate rant.)
Regardless of self-absorption, Boss's family are good people and were concerned about us. They knew my daughter had a love of animals and wanted to be a vet when she grew up. They feared the incident would form a psychological barrier/fear of animals (and of them.) So, when their Dachshund had puppies they offered us one.
My Daughter was thrilled and loves the dog. CatPersonMe was thrilled and loved the dog. This little gal is exceptional and whole-heartedly lovable. She had us all - our foursome, my parents and hubby's parents - wrapped around her paws. We all love her. Good save.
But all happy stories have a twist, don't they. Mother-in-law was diagnosed with melanoma last October. We were blessed with the puppy in March. It is now July, and MIL has decided that she wants to keep the puppy. My husband and his siblings (all grownups) think this is what must happen. I think if they are low enough to take a puppy away from a 7 year old girl (that she earned by going through a horrible experience) then we might as well give MIL some candy from a baby, too. I mean, sure, let's support her, be there for her, try to make her comfortable & happy, try to make her feel loved. But what kind of grownup would take away a little girl's puppy that she loves? At that point, it does not even matter that I love the dog, too. What kind of adults behave this way? Who takes puppies from little girls? Not just any puppy, but one that the little girl earned by being attacked and bitten, by enduring a painful & scary emergency room visit, by bravely facing weeks of healing, and by bearing a prominent lifelong scar that can't be hidden and will always be clearly visible. She will explain this scar the rest of her life.
This is her dog.
But, I understand. Cancer is a death sentence. This is my husband's only mother. If this puppy can make the last of her 70 years happy, then we have to hand it over with a smile, regardless of our daughter's tears. Okay, no I don't understand. That is fucked up. We have convoluted every other aspect of our lives to make that woman happy since way before the cancer thing. Our structures exist around making her happy. This is just one more thing she demands. Usually her guilt cards are about Catholicism or being hubby's mother, but for almost a year now it has been cancer. I respect and fear cancer, and I respect the feelings of anyone enduring or being affected by it. I know that I can't imagine the suffering without personally enduring it. Still, this is a woman who uses whatever she has to get her way and always has, for all of her 70 years. She pulls every string she can reach. She breaks everything she can touch. Her judgment is harsher than God's and there is no such thing as salvation no matter how hard we try. Still, I cannot believe she would stoop to this level. "I want the dog, damn my granddaughter." What kind of woman is that?
Am I over-reacting? Am I letting my own hatred of my husband and his family preclude my thoughts? I certainly have an abundance of angry thoughts against them, but that is not the root of this particular anger. All of my maternal instincts are jumping towards protecting what is my daughter's by earned right. I would fight tooth and claw to the very death for either of my children. I'm just shocked it is my daughter's family that I would have to fight against.
That is fucked up.
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