Pet issues

Hello! We don’t know each other but you spoke in my school about two years ago and I have a matter that I would like your opinion on, if you have the time. My sister and her husband have 3 children and are pregnant with number 4. Their oldest is 8 (Serena). Last year they bought a small dog for her as a birthday gift. Oreo. That dog is now grown and far more trouble than he is worth. He destroys things, goes to the bathroom on things and is all around annoying. Within the past few months my sister has been raising chickens to provide eggs for her family and Oreo has injured and/or killed 8-10 of them. They really want to get rid of the terrible thing but they don’t want to break their daughter’s heart. But he is an expensive and very annoying pet, and they are not wealthy people. They told Serena that they would get rid of the dog if she consented but she is 8 and loves her dog regardless of its short comings. Meanwhile, the ridiculous thing is a big stress point. They often lose patience with him and it is often the children’s fault. They’ve also told her that if she can’t take care of the dog then he has to go but I’m not sure that I can see her sticking with that. Can I have your opinion on this when you get the chance? Thanks so much for your time!

Savana
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Hi Savana,

Great question and I will give you my opinion 🙂
It is obvious that your sister and brother-in-law are doing an amazing job. I can say that because of their desire to invest in one of the two crucial pillars in parenting: Friendship.
However, to parent the way God does with us, we must balance Friendship with the other pillar: Leadership. It is their responsibility to provide direction, protection, provision and limits for their children and for the good of the family.

If they are not able to train or contain Oreo, nor delegate that responsibility to Serena (because of her age, time, etc) I would say it’s time to make a Leader’s decision, which in this case would be to find a good home for Oreo :-).
What a great opportunity to teach several important values to Serena: Looking out for the best of the family, having the ability to say “no” to certain things in life (as hard as it might be), submitting to her parents’ authority (even though she doesn’t understand), etc.
Remember, the goal is to train her to have a soft heart towards God for the rest of her life.
Hope that was helpful, let me know your thoughts.
God bless!

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Thank you so much for taking the time to reply, this is sound wisdom and I will pass it on, thank you!!

Savana