On Dogs and Babies

There has been a lot of chatter lately among my Twitter and Facebook friends, none of whom actually know each other, about kids and dogs and how they are nothing alike. A lot of the commenting is being done by people with kids and no pets or pets and no kids. Having had both for a little bit now, I feet the need to weigh in.

When I lived in Washington, I worked briefly with a guy, and during the time we worked together, he and his wife had their first baby. Over a period of 6 weeks or so, I heard a stream of complaining about how he never got to go to the gym and how the baby couldn't do anything and how he and his wife couldn't even go out to eat anymore. One day he asked me to take a look at his shoulder which was bothering him, and as I gave him the once over, he began to moan about how he hadn't gotten more than 6 hours of sleep in a row in weeks. (Sidebar: At the time, I was barely getting 6 hours of sleep with no baby, and I realize now that getting 6 consecutive hours of sleep with a 6-week-old is nothing to sneeze at.) Nevertheless, I let him finish his lamenting, and then I asked him, "Did you or your wife ever have a pet?" He gave me a funny look but no answer. So I said, "Seriously, a cat, a dog, anything?" He said, not surprisingly, that neither of them had. My response to him was, "Next time, before you have your first child, get a dog." He wasn't amused. While I could have been, perhaps, a bit more understanding to this co-worker's plight, I think my point is a valid one. I have to preface some of this argument by saying that there are exceptions to every rule, and some people are a little nutty when it comes to their dogs and/or children with regards to spending/clothes/travel/health care. This post does not apply to those outliers.

Shortly after moving to Washington, Neil decreed that I needed a cat to keep me company while he was on the road. I protested, but alas, we ended up getting a Uncle Leo. I saw it as a tiny bit of company but mainly as more work. I had to keep food and water bowls full and scoop a litter box. If I went out of town, I had to find someone else to do those things. It took a tiny little slice of my freedom pie away. Picture a pie, any flavor, with a lovely lattice crust, golden brown, fresh from the oven. It's almost too pretty to cut into...until you do, and then, you may as well keep right on eating.

Fully intact freedom pie.

About a year after we got the cat,we decided we were ready to get the pet we really wanted all along...a dog. The dog is a completely different animal. There is much more involved in terms of training, responsibility, grooming, exercise, and general upkeep. Stella was and still is a high-energy dog requiring and demanding a lot of attention. She took a much larger slice of our freedom pie away. When we got Stella, Neil was away a lot flying, so the brunt of the training, bathing, grooming, feeding, and socializing fell to me. If I wanted to go away for a weekend to a wedding or to run a race, I had to make sure I could get Stella a slot at the local kennel and make sure that I could get off work in time to drop her off and make sure that I got a flight back in time to pick her up during pick-up hours. Care-free travel was a thing of the past. It was around this time that a lot of my friends began having children. I initially thought to myself, "Man, the dog is work, but at least she isn't a baby." As time passed, I began to notice similarities between the issues facing my baby-having friends and me. Before anybody gets their panties in a bunch, I would like you to re-read that last sentence. It says similarities, not that it's the same thing. I never really mentioned this to any of my friends with children, but I just took little notes for future reference.

Stella as a puppy...a cute little piece of work (or pie).

Now we're going to get to the meat of this comparison. On May 25, 2011, Annika Grace Senkowski joined the world and in so doing, cleaned off what was left of the freedom pie. Don't get me wrong here. She is adorable and amazing and a gift from God, but she is no joke. Between her and the dog, our pie is nothing but some crumbs of crust left on the plate. I think it  was easier this way, though. Those people on The Biggest Loser don't gain 350 pounds over night. As much as that extra weight taxes their bodies, it's easier to get to 500 pounds over a period of years than it would be to just lump it all on at once. This was the point that was lost on my former coworker.

That pie was nice while it lasted.

This analysis is by no means going to be exhaustive or even extensive. I just want to let all of the dog-without-baby and baby-without-dog folks out there know that they have some common ground. I will start, however, with a few differences. Obviously, a baby has greater potential for intellectual gain than does a dog. You can't leave a baby at home while you go out to dinner. You can't bring a 100 pound dog with you on your lap in an airplane...the 4th of July scared of fireworks is another story.

Dog on lap and Baby on lap.

A baby is much more fragile and vulnerable in the early months and years than a dog. A dog will never be able to bathe itself. A dog will lay quietly at your feet while you study something...German perhaps. A baby will do no such thing (more on this in a later post). I could go on, but I think you all can appreciate the differences between a dog and a baby.

Now, for the fun part. There are a lot of things that are strikingly the same. Both Stella and Annika like to put everything in their mouths. If you don't want it in the mouth of your dog/baby, it had better not be within their reach. I give you exhibit 1A and 1B.

                                           1A                                                                                   1B

I would like to state, at this time, that no photos in this post or others have been staged to prove or disprove any point I may or may not be trying to make. Moving on, a recent development here at Senkowski Berlin is that Annika has begun to beg for food. Stella, like many dogs, has a way of sidling up next to a person and gently laying her chin on that person's lap as that person eats. Annika is slightly less subtle in her technique, and I want to reiterate, that we in no way trained her to do this.

She also scavenges for anything not out of her reach. Anyone with a dog knows food not higher than 4 feet off the ground is fair game.

In addition, both dogs and babies give really satisfying reactions when you enter a room after you've been gone for longer than 2.6 seconds. Dogs and some children, I've heard tell, are really nice to cuddle with. Annika hasn't been down to cuddle since she could voluntarily move her limbs, but Stella can cuddle like a champ.

So, to everyone out there who loves their dog like a child, keep it up. They're the best! Although we know she's doing well with the Chicago Senkowskis, we miss our Stella. If we had somehow managed to get her to Berlin without having to sell Annika on the black market to pay for it, she would have had a lot of nice dog friends. However, we would have no way to kennel her when we head to Poznan, Poland in a week for a Euro 2012 game! That's right folks...Italy-Ireland next Monday night! Look for us if you're watching the game. We'll be the ones with an overtired baby screaming louder than the drunken Irish fans. Then again, maybe we'll just leave her at the hotel with some treats and Micky Maus Wunderhaus on the iPad...oh wait...