I’ve never yearned to be a god parent. I don’t have brothers or sisters, so the chance of me being one was slim to none anyway, but I’m just not the kind of person to be voted god parent.
I mean, I guess I could do it if the kid was like 17 years old, gainfully employed, and going off to college in the fall. Other than that, I’m not god parent material.
At least to a kid.
But I’m not a kid’s god parent. I’m a dog’s god parent! Technically, my husband and I are the god parents to this particular dog, but this is my blog and my story. So we’ll leave him out of it for the purposes of this post.
Go ahead, laugh if you will. And then leave. Because this blog’s not for you, for I am very serious about my excitement and seriousness of god parenthood for dogs.
I think everyone should have plans in place for their dog if the inevitable happens and your dog is left people-less. Ideally, this will be put in a legal document like a will or a living trust or some other official document. I’m not an attorney, so don’t rely on me for advice on how to do this — consult your favorite legal eagle, I’m a dead end in that department.
Back to the real story — god parenthood. We were asked to be god parents to a dog we’ve helped raise. Quite a few pups have come through our house (we’re on #15 to be exact), and this is the first time we’ve been tapped to be the alternative if the worst should happen.
When we were asked, the asker said “take your time, talk it over with Dana, and get back to us. No pressure.” I was at the airport picking up my luggage from a recent trip and immediately wrote back on my phone “Yes.”
I didn’t have to think about it. I didn’t have to talk it over with Dana. The answer is YES. Thinking about it would only confirm my answer, and talking about it with my husband would only confirm his answer: YES.
This is what’s known as a no-brainer. Of course we’ll be god parents. There’s no way we wouldn’t be god parents. My life is now complete. I am a god parent.
It’s funny how something you never ever thought about and never expected can make you feel so good.
Your Turn: Are you a god parent to a dog? Do you have provisions made for your pets — just in case? Please leave a comment and let us know!
I love it!
Some people consider god parents a strictly honorary title. While others concentrate on caregiving responsibility.
I have a friend who is an honorary godparent. She’s tickled by it and always introduces herself that way when I bring my dog into work.
But if something happened to us, my sister has agreed to take care of Honey. I also have a pet sitter who is a dear friend and, if something terrible happened while Honey was in her care, I’d trust her to make a responsible decision.
I hope it never comes to that.
Congratulations on the honor and responsibility you’ve been given. Don’t forget, you know have to buy birthday and graduation gifts. 🙂
Great post.
I heard about God parents for child before but first time reading any post like God parents of dog. Personally I love dog as a pet and as a true friend and spend time and holiday. But this post is influence me thinking more.
Thanks for this kind of post and wish you all the best.
I think it’s SO important to establish a “God Parent” for your animals. Mine are my parents. They want to steal Ru all the time, anyway, so he would most certainly be in fabulous hands. Thanks for posting this. It’s good to remind people that they need to think about it.
Jules of Canines & Couture
http://www.caninesandcouture.com
We adopted just this year and honestly speaking, we have no provisions made. That said, the shelter we came from is a privately run one that really love their dogs and will always be ready to take back and rehome or take care of her for the rest of her life (as they are doing with their other old dogs) should the unfortunate happen and both of us pass on. But that is not ideal so hopefully as we go along and make connections with other dog people, we may find someone we trust and who is willing to take on this responsibility of being a godparent. But it will not be easy, I think.
What a cool idea! Obviously, it’s so important to make sure we have a plan for our pets if something should happen. I love the idea of adding the godparent title too. 🙂