The pets of the lively household

Our pets have almost always outnumbered us. Ever since the beginning of my relationship with Holly, pets have been involved. At first, it was just her pets - the poor old little dog 'Sasha' who I think was blind or deaf and had been hit by a car or two, the crazy fool 'Hubert' who was a pup that needed lots of special attention and then the three litters of kittens born within a few days of each other - something like 18 cats in all. This scene was horrifying to me! I had never had a pet other than a fish and here is this person with all of these pets - where am I supposed to sit??

After our relationship was established and we were talking about moving in together, it was decided that we would have only cats - two or three. I'm not sure what happened but I think Holly talked me into getting a dog, but then I wanted another one so the first one could have a friend. Then, there was my arrival home from Texas where I was greeted by a room full of friends and a stray puppy someone brought that I thought needed to stay with us. That makes three dogs in about 9 months. A few months later, Holly and I saw someone we knew at a restaurant who told us the saddest puppy story - the next day, she was living with us too. At this point, I was working for a veterinarian. We had four dogs and maybe three cats. Then the icing on the cake was 'Grayson' the Great Dane. During this time of animal acquisition, we also lost a few cats and then gained a few more. The feline total now is seven and has been holding steady at lucky number seven for years. Did I mention that I am a dog person - don't really *like* cats but tolerate them. It took a while for me to learn this. The canine total is now three and that includes Grandpa's dog, 'Misha.' We used to have six dogs (including 'Misha') and nine cats, so this is an improvement believe it or not.

The years have flown by and we have managed to see all five dogs through their annoying puppy stages where they chewed up anything and everything they could. These were the days when Ashley was a little girl whose Barbies were getting limbs chewed off almost daily. This never phased her a bit. She would just roll with it and tell us that her Barbie "had a disability." We rolled right through doggie midlife and have now started into the senior years. We have all gotten old during this process, although I would hardly call Ashley old at 22. Three of our dogs have died in the recent past, and all that remain are feline and canine senior citizens. It is a damn shame they do not qualify for a senior discount.

Although Evyn and Reed have added a new dimension to the lively household, our pets have always been a HUGE part of us and our lives. Ashley is old enough to remember the dogs as pups and the cats as kittens. Evyn and Reed only know what old and dying animals are like. Our home has been through a huge transformation lately due to the animals and their lifetimes. This will continue as the aging get older and as Evyn and Reed get to experience life with a puppy.

So be prepared. I am going to blog about our three and four legged animals in the upcoming weeks. They are, and always have been, a significant part of what makes our family *our family* and the reason why we have almost been kicked out of a neighborhood, always have to know where the lint/hair roller is, why there are numerous bags and cans of empty pet food in our recycling bin, why we are on a payment plan with our vet, and why we always know when somebody is in our yard.......