My "Children", Part 1

It is not an uncommon phenomenon for people, especially couples, of child bearing age who do not have children to assign the role of child to a pet. As for us, we have five pets. FIVE. Two dogs and three cats. I'd like to introduce you to them now. As with any new relationship, it's best to get things established before introducing the children. What this means is, I think we're getting kinda serious.

Felines first.

Emma: My first pet as an adult. I got her when I was 19 and living in my first apartment. I am truly a dog person, but I was young and didn't want the responsibility of a dog. So I went to the humane society with my boyfriend (Patrick) and picked out Cole (which is clearly a boy's name and had to be changed poste haste). She was sweet and docile, was already declawed, and head-butted my face when I leaned into her cage. Perfect. When I got her home, she stopped eating. My low maintenance pet had turned into a syringe-fed every two hours for two weeks pet. It was a good lesson in expectations. Now she's old and batty (even though she's only 11) and hates everyone in the house except me, and she only tolerates me when the lights are out. I still adore her.



Julius: We thought that Emma might like a playmate, so we got her a kitten in 2001. This was the beginning of Emma's hatred of everything. Julius came from a friend's family farm in Somerset, Ky. He was so cute. I mean adorable. Played with everything, super friendly, loving, outgoing. SO CUTE. Now he and Patrick are the boys of the house. They have a secret handshake and everything. Only Julius can't really do the handshake because he is so, so, so fat in his old age.



The Pickle: During my year working at a vet, we acquired two pets. One of them was The Pickle. She was found by a co-worker outside her apartment building. She needed medical care, so she brought the cat to work and we started working on her. Eventually, someone needed to pay the bill for this cat. So I did and then brought her home. She is the craziest cat. She's part siamese, so she talks all the time and is constantly getting into trouble. I tried to find her a new home a few months ago, because she fights with the dogs, and Patrick FLIPPED OUT. He loves her. So she stays.



Come back tomorrow to meet the pups! Oooh.... you're gonna love them!