Doggie Custody

Max was only a couple of weeks old and probably 8 inches in length when he was found roaming the streets.

I gladly welcomed him into my, well my parents', home, despite mom and dad's various attempts to convince me otherwise. According to them, I'd never be responsible enough to take care of him.

He slept on my bed the first night, and I was ever so careful to not roll over and, er, kill him.

In the middle of a dream, I was awaken by tiny paws scratching my head. Max was informing me that it was time for a midnight walk

For the weeks that followed, I trained Max to pee on pee-pee pads (and then later outside) and, of course, the whole "sit, lie, paw, up" trick.

My parents, whom at first gave me the silent treatment for days because I chose to ignore their request, slowly became fond of Max.

My dad, a man who often shows little signs of affection to human beings, actually grew to love my dog. He'd play with him, talk to him and, though he won't ever admit it, I swear I saw him hug and kiss Max one day.

And with that said, the issue at hand is the following:

I am no longer living with my parents. After having Max at my folks' house for three years, I've moved and taken him with me, against my parents will.

I know my move is tough on my parents; I was the last child to "leave the nest."

My siblings suggested I leave Max so that ma and pa have some sort of company, and I know their reasoning for this is legitimate, but, um, what about ME? At least my parents have each other. I have no one here in Jensen Beach, the city I'm a new resident of.

A solution to the dilemma, I think, would be shared custody of Maxy: two weeks in Miami, two in Jensen Beach.

Though it sounds like a terrific idea to me, I wonder ...

Will this have a negative effect on my dog, like it does on children with divorced parents that share custody? Aww, my poor Max. :(