When we got the dog I did a fair bit of research about neutering dogs. I decided the best choice for our family was to wait until he was 14 months old, then do the deed.
I should mention the girls have been fascinated with the male anatomy of the dog since the day we brought him home. Ruth was learning to observe nature in school about the same time we got the dog. She sat down next to him with a notebook and wrote down her observations. Black. Furry. Penis.
Well, as the time to neuter him drew close, the girls were getting upset by the whole thing. I have to say I too felt a certain sympathy for the dog, so the role of being the enforcer fell to my wife. She made the appointment and brought the dog to vet. During the first days of his recovery I had to speak to Miriam about appropriate language. I told her she couldn’t be going around school saying “Our dog feels bad because Mommy had his balls chopped off.”