Pet mistake

To the editor:

Our heartbroken family brought two spayed, 9-month-old German shorthair pointer/ Labrador retriever dogs to the Lawrence Humane Society this past weekend. Had they done anything wrong? Were they bad dogs? No. They are eager, quick to learn, good with other dogs and young children. So why did we give them up? Because we made a mistake.

We thought it would be good for our kids to grow up with a dog. We thought we were prepared — a fenced yard, a loving family, lots of supplies, training books and videos.

It was overwhelming. Turns out we did not have enough time and attention to give our dogs. Although we love them very much, it became obvious that we were not a good match for them.

I hope if you are thinking about getting a pet this holiday season that you consider that a young dog takes as much time as a small child.

Our children pray every night that Shaster and Jeetse (rhymes with “pizza”) find a better home with someone who has time to train, walk and play with them.