I am just curious if you or someone you know has ever found themselves wondering, “ Why are they selling that puppy for so much?” Or, “Why do they want money anyway, it's just a puppy?”
While growing up we had several dogs. Most of them just showed up or were puppies that friends or neighbors had, and they were desperate to find people to take them.
So, the idea of ‘buying’ a puppy was not a common thing. Someone’s dog had puppies that you could go see and pick out.
If you have ever had a dog who had puppies, you know that it is never, ever an easy thing to manage. (Unless your dog lived out in the forest or mountain on your 40 acre property and you didn't see the litter until your momma dog proudly led her puppies to your home when they were all grown up……)
As a child, we did have one dog who had one litter, unplanned. This was in the early 1960’s I guess. Of course, as children we were thrilled to have a bunch of puppies! But some of the images in my head of my mom taking care of the pups are of her endlessly thinking up ways to contain the puppies; I mean keep them in a secure place. And when the pups were weaning, I remember her constantly preparing food for them, and they always seemed to be hungry; seems like those images are dominant. I don't remember cleaning up much, but I remember flies….maybe we didn't clean up much….

Then we put a sign out by the road and soon gave away all those puppies to strangers. And we missed them so much because our entire lives seemed to center around puppies, puppies, puppies, for, I don't know, about 7 or 8 weeks I guess. So we made no money on them. Spent lots of money on them. Experienced lots of happiness with them. And felt lots of stress concerning them.
I think mom did something about worming them but we didn't give them shots.
Those puppies were a whole lot of work! And like I said, pretty much our days revolved around the puppies and taking care of them. That's why it is such a strong memory for me.
Those puppies probably gave great pleasure to their new families for many years. Wonder what they were worth to their families? I know that one family brought back their dog for us to see a year or two later. They loved their dog to pieces!
So, why don't we value our family dogs enough to assume they are worth paying a lot for?
We buy televisions. They do give us pleasure. Do we ever wonder why we have to buy one instead of just getting one from someone who wants to give us one? How about a nice Sony 55” Smart TV (2016) model for $1,247.
Did someone spend hours building that TV? Yes, and they should be paid for that if you want that TV. Do you ever feel outraged that you have to pay money for a tv? That would be silly! Someone spent his or her time building the tv.
Of course a TV doesn't become part of your family and provide comfort, affection, security, entertainment, and sometimes therapy….like a dog.
How about a nice boat? Boats give many people pleasure. Do we ever wonder why we have to buy one instead of just hoping someone will build one for us and gift us one? For free.
There is a nice 12.5’ inflatable raft boat for $1,247.
Did someone spend hours building that boat? Yes, and they should be paid for it if you want that boat. Do you think you would feel outraged that you have to hand over money for that boat? Of course not. That would be ridiculous. Someone worked hard making that boat.
Of course a boat doesn't become part of your family and provide comfort, affection, entertainment, security, and sometimes therapy…like a dog.
How about a nice ring to wear on your finger? Rings give many people pleasure. Do we ever wonder why we have to pay money for one instead of hoping that someone will make us one and give it to us? For free. Amazon has a beautiful pink sapphire ring for $1,269.
Did someone spend diligent hours creating a thing of beauty that you can wear on your finger? Yes, and they should be paid for that.
So, you get my drift…