The Price of a Pet
Submitted by My Garden Spot Blog
All three of our pets are rescues of some kind. Butch was adopted by my pa-in-law, and was passed on to us, rather than put back into a shelter to face an uncertain…or perhaps all too certain…. future. Charles, AKA Chucky the Wonderdog, was adopted by us from a shelter, after he’d been placed there by a heartbroken owner who just couldn’t keep him. Lady SpitFire, I got from a fellow teacher who’d adopted her from a box in a Walmart parking log on an ill thought out whim. She and the Chihuahua didn’t get along. She weighed less than one pound, and was ten pounds of feisty.
Our obligations to our pets are something we take very seriously. They’ve put their trust in us, and we don’t want to ever betray that trust. All three show some signs, still of remembering… what?…. loss? How do you explain an anxiety based on an emotion that one that we may be projecting upon them. At any rate, it manifests itself by Chucky grabbing a stuffed toy and carrying it around with him, sleeping with them at times… Butch, well… he eats. A kindred spirit to both ‘Pup and myself…we have to put the food bowl away and limit treats. Lady SpitFire….was left by her dog, Brain. She has not been the same cat since. She’s both more dependent, asking for scritches, but still uneasy, not wanting us to pick her up or get too familiar. She doesn’t go outside, as she used to. She seems fearful of outside, now.
All in all, they’re good critters. They’re individual personalities make life…interesting…at times, but they’re an important part of the household. It would be an emptier world without them. Because of our love of our pets, we (’Pup and I) hope that anyone reading this will take a moment and think about how a pet made your life happier, or more..interesting. I hope you’ll respond to those memories by taking some pet supplies you might have, extra.. or bought specifically for this… to a local shelter. If you have a few hours in your week, consider volunteering to be a walker, or a kitten holder. The latter job is one I want to volunteer for this winter. Socializing the kittens, getting them ready for a new home, and, hopefully, watching them go to happy, new and lifetime homes would be a job that would bring me happiness.
