# Dog obsessed or "normal"?



## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Do you ever feel like nobody gets you in this particular department? I honestly feel like theres something wrong with me for liking animals as much as I do. I'll be the first to admit that 90% of the photos on facebook are of animals, mostly Uno. I have a lingering suspicion that a lot of people that I've added as "friends", from the past, have stopped commenting or sending messages because they think I'm a crazy dog lady. If I post something dog related, nobody comments on it. If I post something pertaining to my life that doesent envolve animals, I get a hearty response. 
I noticed that whenever people post about kids, family life, school, work, they always receive a multitude of comments. 
Even my mom and sister made a passing remark that I should delete those photos because it makes me look weird since everybody else is getting married, having kids and it makes me look "delayed". I find it hurtful but I also question whether they are right. 
Animals are the love of my life, theres nothing in this world that makes me happier really, why should I deny it for the sake of reputation? 

And its not just online, at least here, I can share how I feel and have the support of fellow animal lovers, but in real life, I feel so isolated because of it. Sometimes I wonder if theres something wrong with me for caring so much about animals as I do, is it not normal to walk your dog every day, twice a day, regardless of the weather, is it not normal to spend more money on quality food, is it not normal to check my dog daily for any cuts, scrapes of bruises, brush their teeth, clean ears, clip nails check for every anomaly?

Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to see dogs in that whole "its just a dog" mentality, when I see dogs that are a mess and their owners seem entirely oblivious to it, morbidly obese animals, matted coats, overgrown nails, smelly ears. I sometimes feel like I'm the only one who notices those things. 

Like at the dog park today, some guy was walking his beagle that was so fat, he could hardly walk. The man jokingly called out to the dog "come on pudgy, lets go", as though it was cute for the dog to be that heavy. I couldnt stop thinking about it for the rest of the day. Why does it bother me so much?

anyways, I'm not entirely sure what the point of my post is, its more of a rant. 
Thanks for listening.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Are we friends on FB? Because I post on people's animal pictures ALL THE TIME!!!! And I post up about my animals ALL THE TIME!!! Don't change who you are because other people don't get it...find other people who DO get it and make them your priority of your time. 

My FB page...add me :wink:

http://www.facebook.com/nesinton


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

I totally, totally understand you. I sometimes used to feel like I needed to hide it... like on my regular facebook page, I have pictures of Jackson and all, but I try not to be obsessive about it because I don't want people thinking I'm weird or something. And I love clicker training and Jackson knows over 60 fun tricks and we have SUCH a blast with it but I used to hide it from alot of people in real life because I didn't want them to think I was some dog obsessed weirdo. Like, my closest friends have no idea that Jackson has his own YouTube page or that I even am joined on dog forums. But I've come to just learn that if they don't love me for who I am, then we shouldn't be friends anyways. So I don't let it bother me as much anymore but I still don't "talk dog" with most of my friends, mainly because they probably wouldn't care.


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## harrkim120 (Feb 2, 2010)

You are totally not alone...I even bore the boyfriend to death with my dog stories, rants, information, nonsense, etc. I'm even in the process of creating a Facebook page for raw feeding in the Central Florida area. 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Central-Florida-Raw-Feeding/171056176273533

Add me too. :thumb:

Kim Harrington | Facebook


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## stajbs (Jun 5, 2010)

Oh Unosom, I've had similar thoughts. I think most of our friends and co-workers thought we were nuts for 16/17 years. I'm okay with that because it makes us happy. My brother in law could never understand our commitment, but he eventually came to respect our dedication. All he thought for years was the dogs tied us down and we couldn't come to visit him. Well geez, that's because he was afraid people in his condo complex would be upset if the dogs peed on the parking lot. I even said we would rinse it each time. He knew we clean up the dog poop immediately but he thought that would be an issue. I swear he turned into Martha Stewart on us. Other family were sometimes upset about the commitment but never were as vocal. Others were infatuated with the idea of us running dogs but they did not understand the lifestyle. I really did not give a hoot because it was something my husband and I enjoyed and shared a common bond with.

My son and daughter in law tried to get us to go for vacations without the dogs and we never would. When we took vacations they were always to attend dog events in NY or elsewhere. They offered to feed the dogs and we just did not take them up on the offer. It never felt right to have the dogs be their responsibility, what if something happened to them or one of the dogs...we couldn't stand the thought. We left 4 of our sibes with another close dog friend one time for an overnight for us to go to NY to pick up Blaze and Silva. She also fed one meal for us one time so we could do a whole day at an amusement park one time. When we went to NY we left around 1PM on a Friday, travelled 4/5 hours, stayed with friends overnight, went out for breakfast with them and my husband said lets get going "I miss the dogs". So we loaded up our newest furkids and came home. We were home again by 3PM the next day. When we got to my friends house we went walking out back to her inside/outside kennel and all I could hear as we talked and went back was Thorn "crying" in excitement when he heard our voices. We were his fifth owners and I am sure he felt abandoned even though he was there with three of his buddies. We only felt comfortable leaving them with her because she is a vet tech and sibe savvy.

On FB most of the photos I use are the dogs, and oh my gosh some of them are at the bridge. Some people find this weird but to me they were a huge part of my life, and the great memories outweigh the pain most of the time. I get a lot of rescue post stuff on my FB page and I post the occasional other life stuff, and things about the grandbaby, but mostly it's about dogs. I've gotten involved via FB with Rescue Ink and assist in their rescue efforts when we can for transports and the occasional overnight stay.

If you and I are abnormal or "delayed" in some way, then there are a whole lot of other people that are the same. Many of our friends are dog people like us, those are our friends now. Other friends who live more "normal" lives are missing out on one of the greatest joys in life...sharing life with a dog(s) or cat(s) is fulfilling to us. Besides I like most dogs more than most people. Not sure my rant helped any, but hopefully you feel better for sharing your thoughts because I know I do. lol

My facebook page/Jackie Baker


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## mischiefgrrl (Oct 28, 2010)

LOL I think the same thing about what I post on FB. I'd rather see pictures of people's pets doing cute things than read inane status updates about their every move (I'm going to zumba! Boy I'm tired. I cleaned the garage today!) Don't worry about whether or not people see you as "developing" because you're not posting a change in relationship status every other day. Your friends are your friends and if they know you, then they know you love your pets and they love them too!


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Thank you everyone for the kind replies, I was suprised to go on FB and discover 15 new friend requests  I guess I'll keep posting away everything dog related


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## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

Awww, don't feel bad. I talk about my dogs, cats all the time along with my kiddos as well. My kids even talk about dogs and cats LOL. Maybe they are a little delayed too? LOL It's awesome you are so proud. If you are happy then that is what is most important is your happiness not what everyone else thinks or expect of you. Some of our family members could care less if we mentioned our dogs/cats they are just "animals." Nothing valuable. Maybe they are just jealous because you don't need someone in your life, to get married, or to have kids to make you complete. You already are with Uno. It's a love that they won't understand. 
Hugs!


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Eh, sometimes it seems like you can never win with family. I absolutely love mine dearly, but, dang it, they can be frustrating!

As a little girl, you are brought up to stay away from boys. Then, you reach a certain age and everyone's like, "when are you going to get in a serious relationship?"

After you find that special someone, everyone wants to know, "when are you getting married?"

I am currently in the "when are you having kids?" stage in my life. I get it from all sides. Family, friends, co-workers, strangers, etc. It doesn't help that ALL of my friends have now had kids. I am literally the last one (if I have to hear one more damn birthing story...)

My grandma has said on numerous occasions that she doesn't like Ania because she feels like Ania is taking the place of a human baby in our lives. Grandma doesn't like dogs, and she reeeeaalllly doesn't like GSD's. And we haven't had a baby in the family for about 10 years (God forbid!!).

But you know what? I have stopped letting it affect me. If they all want a baby so dang bad, THEY can go out and get knocked up (well, not Grandma, obviously, but everyone else!). Not to get all corny, but I have to live my own life. And so do you. 

I often wonder what comes after "when are you going to have a baby?" I don't know what it is, but I can guarantee that it is SOMETHING. So, if where you currently are in life is NEVER good enough for others, why bother trying to chase their dreams? Just live yours!


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## Boxers&Pom's Mom (Jan 17, 2011)

Add me too! I posted pictures of the dogs eating RAW and I did not get no comments. I feel the same way, but I don't care. My dogs are my childrenhttp://www.facebook.com/juana.millares


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

Feel free to add me too! http://http://www.facebook.com/tangs910

My facebook page has practically become 'Louisbook'...I even thought about creating his own page and profile. Almost all the photos are of my dog, and most posts are regarding him in some way. I was at a friend's baby shower a few months ago and people were talking about their kids and babies...well I have no kids so naturally (to me at least) I started talking about my dog! Somehow the subject came up about how I had bought Louis some doggy boots for the snow. Somebody gave me a funny look and said, "If you're buying boots for your dog, it's really time to have a kid." Um...!! What if I don't want a kid? What if my dog is my kid? All of my friends are starting to have babies and the fact that Louis is my baby doesnt seem to make sense to most of them. You should see my living room...it looks like I could have 2 toddlers with the amount of toys strewn all over the place. My husband and I don't know if we want kids or not, but one thing is for certain...we will always have dogs :smile:


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

I totally understand, my life is animals lol, I work with animals, and have a small zoo at home. I'm sure some of my friends/family get tired of hearing how my dogs are, and I've had several people get offended and 'de-friend' me because I post pictures of my dogs eating raw, and talk about it on FB. Most of my FB posts are about my animals, the silly things they do, the pictures, work related issues, etc. So no you are not 'ab-normal'....IMO Everyone else is lol.

Here's mine: http://www.facebook.com/cprcheetah


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

I don't post about my dog on FB, because ... my dog has her own blog. I can track who visits her site, and I'm hardly the only one viewing it.

Finally, and this is all tongue in cheek, my hairstylist and I were discussing crazy pet ladies, and we decided: (a) anyone with more than 2 cats is crazy cat lady, (b) anyone with more than 4 dogs is crazy dog lady, and (c) crazy cat lady is way crazier than crazy dog lady. Well, maybe that last one is true (kidding!).

PS - Uno, I think you and I have met. I used to run with Amanda and Jay (and the Runegades) in Chapel Hill before I moved to DC.


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

I know how you feel. I'm sure most of my friends think I'm the crazy dog lady. It's all I talk about. I post pics of my dogs each day lol  

Any other crazy dog lovers can feel free to add me 

http://www.facebook.com/meghandriscoll


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## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

The whole "it's just a dog" thing really bothers me, I usually just shrug it off to avoid confrontation. There are enough orphans out in the world to be popping out children just because you treat your dog like one, or because in the world of "normal" humans, such love should not be given to dog, but rather to a child. Doesn't make any sense to me.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I'm happy and proud to announce that I'm a crazy dog lady!!!! Woot!!! :thumb:


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Don't worry, I'm a crazy animal-lover too, but my mom and siblings have always known it so they're totally ok with it :biggrin: 

Feel free to add me on fb too and we can all reply to your animal posts with gusto! http://www.facebook.com/rannmiller


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

Unosmom said:


> Thank you everyone for the kind replies, I was suprised to go on FB and discover 15 new friend requests  I guess I'll keep posting away everything dog related


I can't seem to add you as you don't show up in my search results on FB even though you were suggested by a couple of people? 



Ania's Mommy said:


> As a little girl, you are brought up to stay away from boys. Then, you reach a certain age and everyone's like, "when are you going to get in a serious relationship?"
> 
> After you find that special someone, everyone wants to know, "when are you getting married?"


I feel your pain.... For us right now it seems all of our friends keep asking when we're getting married :wink: Fortunately they should know not to move on to the kids question


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

here my page
Victoria Antonyuk | Facebook


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## KittyKat (Feb 11, 2011)

Oh my Facebook is full of pictures of my dog... and i'm hedging closer to 30 every year. My dog is my boyfriend, and my baby. =P


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## nikkiluvsu15 (Jun 9, 2010)

LOL - I have like 3-4 photo albums on Facebook that are just dedicated to Harleigh :biggrin:

People probably do think I'm a crazy dog lady, but whatever... I am who I am, so deal with it :tongue: Plus, when someone I know has a dog emergency or dog related question, who is the first person they go to? Me, so at least I'm needed sometimes. Ha!

P.S. sent you a friend request :biggrin:


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## werecatrising (Oct 15, 2010)

My FB albums are full of pics of the critters. I love posting about my dogs and hearing about other people's!


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

Unosmom said:


> Do you ever feel like nobody gets you in this particular department? I honestly feel like theres something wrong with me for liking animals as much as I do...


There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. There IS, however, something wrong with those people, as far as I'm concerned.

A co-worker likes to go hunting and when he bags Bambi, he brings deer meat in for everyone who wants some. I get some and he knows that when he gives it to me, it's for my dogs. He knows this.

But other co-workers can't understand it. I recently got a shoulder and "ham" from the hunter co-worker and a few days later, the other co-workers were talking about what we all got. They then had to make a point to say something about what I did with my share. Seems someone wasn't there the day of the deer meat hand out and didn't get any and was all pissy that I chose to use my deer meat for the hoodlums.

"I can't believe you would give them the ham! That's for humans! They're DOGS!!!"

I replied that it was my gift to do as I pleased, the hunter co-worker KNOWS that I'm going to give that meat to my hoodlums and doesn't have a problem with it, why should they?

They still have a problem with it but again, that's their problem, not mine. I don't care what they or anyone else thinks when it comes to my affection towards animals. They can swill their beer every night, back stab each other, get high and I'll go ahead and spend quality time with my pets and help saving other animals. 

As you can clearly see, I'm the weird one here.

By the way, my FB photo is the same one you see here. And my blog? It's a pic of my cat. They don't like it? Don't friend me and don't stop by my site. I have long stopped living my life around trying to please every body else. Now I do what I want and what makes me happy. Too bad if that's a problem for others.


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