Promises To My Dog

Esther’s writing prompt: 17th September : Promises

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Dogs are domesticated wolves. To survive in our human society, they need to be taken care of. We often get them as puppies and all they know is how to live with people. When you get a dog, this is a lifetime commitment. Despite this fact a lot of people buying puppies bring them to shelters and many irresponsible breeders bring unsold puppies to shelters. In addition, 7% to 20% of dogs adopted from shelters are returned to the shelters, mostly due to behavioral issues or owners’ unrealistic expectations. Dogs who were returned for behavioral issues were also more likely to be euthanized.

Some dog owners don’t even bother to turn their dog into a shelter, they just abandon them. In the U.S., approximately 3.1 million dogs enter shelters each year. Many of these are abandoned, the offspring of abandoned dogs, or lost pets. In the U.S., about 60% of dogs entering shelters are strays. As a side note, abandoning a dog is illegal in almost every US state, including Texas where I live. We dog owners need to do better. We have responsibilities towards our dogs, to feed them, raise them, train them, exercise them, take care of them, and continue to shelter them when they get old and sick.

The Leonberger community has taken significant steps towards protecting Leonberger dogs from abuse and abandonment. First, the Leonberger Club of America certifies responsible breeders and work to prevent dogs from ending up with backyard breeders and puppy mills. Breeders are required to take back and care for a dog if it does not work out. All prospective Leonberger owners are interviewed and must sign a contract dictating how they should treat the dog. If they find out that you have mistreated a dog or failed to take care of a dog you cannot buy a Leonberger. To see the transcript for our Leonberger interview click here.

12 Promises to my Dog

  • Dear fur angel, I promise to feed you properly.
  • Dear fur angel, I promise to protect you from toxic foods such as raisins, grapes, chocolate, xylitol, birch sugar, onion and garlic.
  • Dear fur angel, I promise to protect you from toxic plants, dangerous household items and animals.
  • Dear fur angel, I promise to keep one or more water bowls always filled with fresh and clean water for you.
  • Dear fur angel, I promise to comfortably shelter you.
  • Dear fur angel, I promise to train you and care for your physical and emotional needs.
  • Dear fur angel, I promise to walk you every day (on days when this is possible).
  • Dear fur angel, I promise to take care of all your veterinary needs.
  • Dear fur angel, I promise to play with you, pet you, and throw balls.
  • Dear fur angel, I promise to never abandon you.
  • Dear fur angel, I promise to be there for you when you cross the rainbow bridge.
  • Dear fur angel, I promise to love you forever.

Puppy Versus Old Dog Photos

Below are some photos of our dogs. Except for the first photo, which is a photo of our Labrador Baylor and German Shepherd Baby at an advanced age, the photos are arranged so that the first is photo of the dog as a puppy followed by a photo of the same dog at an advanced age. I should say that we got Baylor and Baby when they already were adults and we don’t have puppy photos of them. What happened was that family members of ours had got them from a shelter and when those family members later needed to move, we offered to take care of them.

Both dogs are laying on their stomach. Baylor, a yellow Labrador, is on the left and Baby a brown and black German Shepherd is on the right.
Our Labrador Baylor, left, and our German Shepherd Baby, right. Both dogs are at an advanced age. I should add that Baylor was partially a mix. He was three quarters Labrador and one quarter Rhodesian Ridgeback.
Our Leonberger Bronco Puppy is sitting looking into the camera and wearing a red scarf.
Our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle at three months old.
Our Leonberger Puppy is sitting looking into the camera and wearing a scarf. It is a black and white picture.
Our Leonberger Bronco at three months old.
Our Leonberger is standing on the left. My wife is standing on the right and holding the Grey Muzzle Award diploma.
Our Leonberger Bronco received the Grey Muzzle Award for longevity at age 12. Leonbergers typically live 8-10 years. It was the Leonberger Health foundation International that gave him the award. My wife is holding the Grey Muzzle Award diploma.
Our soon 13 year old Leonberger Bronco is lying on the lawn in front of our house. He is looking into the camera.
Our soon 13 year old Leonberger Bronco.
Ryu our Japanese Chin is dancing with our daughter. He is looking into the camera. It looks like he is laughing.
Our Japanese Chin puppy Ryu loved to sing and dance when. Well, howl and dance.
Ryu our Japanese Chin is sitting and looking serious.
Ryu is old in this picture. He has an illness, and he is more serious.
Daisy, our pug, is in our son’s arms. He is wearing a red shirt.
Our pug Daisy in our younger son’s arms. She is a puppy in this picture. People typically assumed that Ryu was the female and Daisy the male, but it was the other way around.
Our pug Daisy, is wearing a pink party hat and she is eating a Pup Cake.
Daisy’s 15th birthday. She is getting old. She is having a Pup Cake.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo puppy is looking into the camera. He is white and dark brown.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo as a puppy.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo is sitting in a black and pink pet stroller.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo is grown up but not yet old. Here he is sitting in Daisy’s stroller. Strange noises such as ducks quacking used to scare him and then he wanted to sit in her stroller.

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

60 thoughts on “Promises To My Dog”

    1. Yes that is another reason I did not mention. You can’t force people, but I can imagine that surviving family members who peobably know the dog could adopt it,. It would be nice if they could take the dog unless there was something preventing it like a baby or a jealous dog. Having it go to a shelter and an unknown fate is sad.

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    1. Thank you so much Esther for your kind words and thank you for doing the prompts. Yes, shelters should be for people in severe binds not unsold puppies from puppy mills or people who don’t want to deal with an old dog. There are a lot dog owners who should never’ve been.

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  5. What a wonderful post, Thomas, and I love your list of promises. Those were my family’s too when we had our dogs. It breaks my heart to imagine a dog or puppy being abandoned. Cat’s also. Anyone who is cruel to animals doesn’t have a heart. That photo of Bronco at 3 months is beyond adorable. I just want to hug him! Loved all your beautiful photos!

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    1. Thank you so much Lauren. Bronco loved being held and carried around like a big baby even though he certainly could run and walk. Carrying him in your arms was like hugging him. I agree, sometimes people are in severe bind and have to give up a dog to a shelter but there’s no excuse for abandoning a dog or a cat. This is cruel.

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    1. Thank you so much Beth. Abandoning animals makes me sad too, but a lot of people do it. Our previous neighbor, a real estate agent, sold a house and the previous owners just left their dog in the house without telling anyone. Luckily, our neighbor took care of the dog.

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  10. Love your promises. We promise to give Maya fresh food and water in clean bowls every day, a warm place to sleep, love and fuss when she wants it, walks every day, playtime, runs, treats, seeing her friends both canine and human, to protect her from harm and injury, to comfort her if stressed, unsettled or after a bad dream, veterinary care when needed, car rides, and everything else that goes with having a fur baby.
    Lovely photos of beautiful dogs Thomas.

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    1. Thank you so much Jan, and you are right, they apply to children too. For dogs it is lifelong responsibility but with any luck, the children will be able to take care of themselves sometime after college.

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  13. You are a loving and responsible pet owner, Thomas. I’m sure all of your dogs have been well cared for. I like your list of promises. The book I’m reading to my seniors right now has a scene where a boy accidentally kills a bird by feeding it apple seeds. People sometimes mistakenly feed animals foods they shouldn’t eat.

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  14. Thank you for this wonderful and important message! Oh, how I wish everyone understood this and would make these promises. I wish the law making abandoning a dog illegal would be enforced and that everyone who has abused or neglected a dog or cat would not be allowed to adopt or buy another one. I wish no one would buy a dog, but would adopt from a shelter or rescue, until all the homeless dogs have been adopted. But presently, there aren’t enough homes for them all. Excellent post!

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    1. Thank you so much JoAnna. It is hard to understand how anyone can abandon or abuse a dog and stores, backyard breeders and puppy mills bringing their unsold puppies to shelters is horrible. I also feel very sorry for homeless dogs.

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      1. I almost shared a good news story today about a labrador who was reunited with her family 8 years later, but the fact that the dog had been stolen (for breeding) right from the yard in front of the family made me feel awful and I went looking for another story. It baffles me how some of us care so much and some care so little. Sigh. But thank you for caring and for this post of compassion. I might share it as a reblog at some point if that’s okay.

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        1. It is wonderful that the Labrador was reunited with her family after 8 years but I agree, the circumstances were dark. Unfortunately, it can go even darker, as when people steal dogs for dog fights. Criminals doing that kind of stuff have really dark souls. You are right. Some people care, they have empathy, and some people none at all. Naturally, you can reblog any of my posts any time. Thank you so much JoAnna. I appreciate your kindness.

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  15. Lulu: “Before they adopted her, our Dada’s old girl Trixie, the dog who I look like, was returned to the shelter for ‘behavioral reasons’ because they said she was hyper and destructive. According to Dada, Trixie was just about the calmest dog ever, and never destroyed a thing. So he thinks those people just didn’t want her anymore and made up lies about her.”

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  20. Every dog owner and potential dog owner should see your list of promises, Thomas! It’s so sad that many don’t follow these principles. 😩 And this is a horrible statistic:

    In the U.S., approximately 3.1 million dogs enter shelters each year. Many of these are abandoned, the offspring of abandoned dogs, or lost pets. In the U.S., about 60% of dogs entering shelters are strays. 

    For decades, Canadian rescue organizations have been going into the U.S. and bringing these dogs north, saving them from certain death. This is how we got Zoey, who was a stray from Kentucky.

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  21. Some sad numbers Allan about the behaviour of many dog owners, and let’s say animal owners at large. To abandon an animal is such a shameful act, grr, bad humans. Anyhow, this is a solid list of promises that, as others have said, could well apply to children too. I smiled at a lot of the photos you shared, especially the one of Daisy and her cake. She looks absolutely over the moon.

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      1. That’s OK Leighton I need a cup of coffee too, even though it is afternoon. I called you Austin as a joke. I think it was in Tintin where two characters kept calling each other by the wrong name. I am looking forward to reading your next travel post, which I will soon.

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    2. Thank you so much Austin (just kidding….) Abandoning an animal is certainly a very shameful act. They depend on us because we made them depend on us. I think Daisy loved her Pupcake. She was getting old in that picture. She was turning 15. Unfortunetly, we had to put her down six months later.

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  24. People laugh at us and tease us for referring to our pets as our “fur babies” and our children, but if more people thought of them as their children, rather than just “animals” or “pets”, I think the world would be a much better place, with a lot less animal abuse or abandonment.

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