reggie is not my dog

Reggie is not my dog. He's actually a family dog, or if we are going to be really accurate, he's my moms.

My parents got a divorce this past year. It was unexpected, messy and it completely changed our whole family. I won't get into the details, but all you need to know for the sake of this story is that my mom had an extremely difficult time with the divorce due to the circumstances that surrounded it. My boyfriend and I would stop by her house often to visit and we would always bring Pig to cheer her up. My mom loves Pig.

A few months ago, my boyfriend decided to breed Pig. My brother and I had thrown around the idea of buying my mom a dog to keep her company but my mom would always say she didn't want a dog. We should have listened to her, since you know, she told us she didn't want a dog, but when Pig's lady dog had puppies we of course had to go check them out.

I bought Reggie, the first dog my family has ever had, and kept him at my apartment during the week so we could surprise my mom on the weekend. This was probably a mistake. I have never owned a dog before so I had no idea I would get so attached to him in such a short time. By the end of the week when we were supposed to bring the dog to my mom I cried all day because I wanted to keep him. After a pep-talk from the BF I decided the only option was to give the dog to my mom like we planned.

My mom was shocked and so very excited about Reggie, immediately calling all her friends and family to tell them the good news. I was really happy for her and it made it worth giving up the dog. My mom asked if we could keep him until the next weekend so she could get some puppy supplies and get ready for him to live with her, so we took Reggie back to the city.

The next day I got a call from my mom, and she broke down. She was incredibly grateful for Reggie but totally overwhelmed and felt pressured to have him when she wasn't ready. I felt horrible. This was supposed to be a gift and instead it made my mom uncomfortable. She kept telling me it was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for her which is why she felt bad being upset. I understood and offered to take Reggie until she was ready.

Months have passed and I still have Reggie living with me. I visit my mom every few weeks and bring the dog so she can see him, but she never asks to have him back. I don't know if my mom will ever take Reggie but as more time goes on I know it will be harder to give him up. My boyfriend says that I did this on purpose so that I could keep him, but I promise that was never my plan. I just didn't have the heart to force this responsibility on my mom after she came to me so upset. It wouldn't have been right.

So for now Reggie is staying with me, or actually with my boyfriend. My roommate doesn't want Reggie in our apartment so we are both temporarily staying at his place until I figure something out. And I will. But whatever happens, if my mom takes him or I move into a new place, I am glad that I bought the little nugget and that he is now a part of my family.