Missed Opportunity- Puppy Wanted
My 12 year old daughter wanted a dog. I told her that she would have to do the ground work and research they what type of dog she wanted, find a top rated breeder and then call the breeder to ask to be put on the list for the next litter. My daughter is very intelligent, but is also very shy when it comes to talking with people on the phone that she doesn’t know. So I told her that if she wants a dog, to send an email to the breeder and to follow up with a phone call. Time passed and she continually asked when we were planning to get a dog. Finally, I broke down and called the breeder to find out the status of the last litter. She told me, to my chagrin, that all of the puppies were sold.
My daughter cried. She was so upset that she didn’t sleep that night. So being a mother that believes in avoiding making the same mistake twice, I sat her down and asked her if her fear of talking with strangers over the phone was greater than her desire to get a dog. She cried some more and said that if she could do it over again, she would at least ask me to speak to the breeder with her on the speaker phone and that she would work to overcome her fear. So she went back on the website and checked the availability of the next litter. The breeder is unsure if or when there will be another litter but promised that we would be at the top of the list if there was. My daughter missed out on the opportunity to get the dog she wanted this summer and may never get a dog from that breeder, but I think that we both learned a valuable lesson and hope that her struggle is one that other young children (and their parents) could learn from.