Even when your parents don’t really want one.
By Zoie
A Type III Enrichment Project
Hi! My name is Zoie. I am 8 years old and I love dogs.
I have lots of stuffed dogs, but for two years I wanted a small inside dog that would sleep and play with me.
My parents did not really want another dog. We have two big dogs.
I started reading the pet section of the Thrifty Nickel paper.
There were lots of little dogs: Shih-tzu’s, a black poodle, Maltese puppies, and Yorkies.
I called and got information from the people who owned the dogs.
I learned that male means a boy and female means a girl.
Then I started looking on KSL.com and Craig’s List for dogs.
I learned that little dogs cost between $300-$1000 if they are papered, but about $150-$300 without papers.
Papers are important because when you breed your dog you can sell them for more money.
Here are the questions I asked when I
called about the dogs…
Are they kennel trained? Are they potty trained? Can they sit, stay, and come? Are they yappy? (My parents do NOT want
a yappy dog.)
Are they good with babies? Do they shed? (My parents do NOT want a
dog that sheds.)
Male or Female? I decided that I was going to get a female
so that I could breed her and sell her puppies to get money for college. (This was a good selling point for my parents. My brothers and sisters bought and sold horses to make money for college.)
My mom still did not want an inside dog though, but my dad was thinking about it!
He
re a
re a
ll t
he
do
gs I
called
ab
ou
t…
I RESEARCHED THESE DOGS ONLINE
Maltese Pekingese Yorkshire
Terrier
Boston Terrier Miniature Pinscher Pomeranian
I CALLED ABOUT 50 PEOPLE ABOUT DOGS!
English Bulldog Pug
Chihuahua West Highland
Terrier Japanese Chin Toy Poodle
What Should I Choose? I loved bulldogs and pugs but they can’t
breathe very well so they can’t go outside when it is hot.
I love Japanese Chins but they were only available far away—none in Idaho.
I loved chihuahuas but my mom thought they were yappy and not cute.
I loved Yorkies, but they can have health problems and they shed.
I loved poodles, and they don’t shed!
What Should I Choose? I didn’t like how Boston Terriers or
Miniature Pinschers looked, even though my dad did.
I didn’t love West Highland Terriers because they were too big.
I didn’t like how the Maltese or Pekingese dogs looked.
I finally decided that a toy poodle would be perfect!
A Poodle! My mom and dad still said that a toy
poodle was too expensive, so I cleaned my room and sold a bunch of my junk on ebay.
I made $94! I also earned $31 for doing chores, which equaled $125. I thought that I would buy my own dog but none of them cost $125!
Christmas
For Christmas, my mom and dad bought me a poodle.
Her name is Misty. She is white. She has brown eyes. She is potty trained. She will be 2 years old on May 9th. She is cute and adorable and she likes
sleeping on the top of our couch.
So my dream came true!
Here are Some Pictures
I took of Misty…
These are the hard things about
having a dog…
You have to take her out in the snow early in the morning and late at night to go to the bathroom.
You have to clean up her mess. Sometimes Misty doesn’t want to go
to sleep and she keeps me awake. You have to take her for a
walk every day.
The great things about
having a dog…
You get to cuddle them.
You get to play games with them.
She sleeps with me at night.
She runs to greet me when I get home from school.
Fantastic!
Having a dog is…