I used to have a dog, and thought of myself as a dog-lover. That was until I got into my cat phase and now I'm sure I'm more of a cat-person than a dog-person. Nonetheless, I still like and are not averse to them. Until recently.

My younger sis came home from Melbourne to stay with my parents. Her dog there died while she was here, and she didn't manage to get closure from it. One day she brought home a mongrel puppy who reminded her of her previous dog. This was although my parents had denied her permission to do so. Now the puppy is a full-grown mongrel, and my parents have fallen in love with her. But as you know, a full-grown dog in a HDB flat makes for cramped living.

Not to mention that I am 6-months pregnant now and it is no good to have a dog jumping at my tummy all the time. Which is what happens when I go over to my parents' place once a week for dinner. My sis is resistant to the idea of even leashing the dog up during the 3 hours that hubby and I are over there. We have tolerated doggy for months, trying to be patient with her as my sis scolds her when she jumps on me.


But as my tummy grows bigger and I can feel the baby more, the doggy is also growing bigger, and her paws hit directly at the baby. Mongrel paws are not like toy dog paws; they have real hard claws. And excitable doggy just keeps pouncing as she thinks we're playing with her when we push her away when she jumps. My sis complains that we should just ignore the dog and she'll go away --- how to, when she is hitting at my baby?

This problem is becoming a wet blanket to my pregnancy. Of course when one is pregnant, family support is very important. I would love to be able to go to my Mum's place in the afternoon and chat and chill out. But no can do, when the dog is there. In fact, sometimes I don't even feel like going over, because each visit is risking my baby's safety.

I am seriously thinking that if the situation does not improve, I will cut out the weekly visits altogether. It's silly to risk my baby's life, just so the dog can stay unleashed for 3 hours. But what to do, when parents give in to my sis. Anyway, dinner time is spent talking more about the dog than my baby. My parents-in-law show more interest in our well-being than my parents.


After baby is born, I will not bring him over to my parents' new place just across the road from mine, because of the dog. She pounces and barks very loudly. Not something a newborn should be exposed to. Perhaps then, I need to learn to survive this pregnancy with minimal support from my family :(

Labels: Animals Were Here First, Homebody, Nostalgic Nut