Married... with Pets
Jamie, today's guest blogger, is Ron's wife (see yesterday's post), a vital part of our church's youth ministry, one of Mrs. Happy's best friends, and an all-around joy to know.
—Curt
Before my husband and I were married, we talked about children. We discussed when, how many, whether I would stay home and so forth. We had it all figured out. We decided that we wanted to wait about five years so that we could save some money with me working, get to know one another (we had a very short dating and engagement period) and just enjoy being a couple.
Well, for the first year of our marriage we were right on track with our five year plan. That is until Dexter came along. At three weeks of age and all of one pound, this little bundle of gray fur and bones won our hearts. He was a tiny little kitten, and the first pet to enter our lives. He had been abandoned on the side of the highway near where I work in Queens. I brought him home and we immediately took our little treasure to the veterinarian.
The news was not good. He was severely malnourished, full of worms, fleas and who knows what other feline diseases plagued his tiny body. The doctor told us that he was not sure that Dexter would make it. He instructed us to keep a close eye on him. We worriedly watched and cared for him, and eventually he pulled through and is now a healthy, happy addition to our family. We are now cat people. Whenever we see anything with cats on it, our attention is quickly drawn to it and we start our long list of Dexter comparisons and memories:
"Oh, doesn't that look like Dexter?"
"Dexter is so cute, we have the cutest kitty in the world!"
"Do you remember when Dexter....?"
Our lives are consumed with our precious baby, I mean kitty. Our family... my husband, Dexter and I. We were all set. Until one day when I was talking to Mrs. Happy. She mentioned that she would love to get Curt a puppy. They really wanted to have a dog but were not able to have one in their apartment. She was sad, but I on the other hand had an idea. It was my husband's birthday and I had been at a loss for weeks trying to pick out a gift. A puppy! That would be just perfect. Dexter needed a playmate and we had already talked about getting a dog. We were just waiting for the right timing because we figured that it would be an added responsibility.
So that very day, on a whim, I took my husband and surprised him with a trip to the animal shelter to adopt a puppy for his birthday. We know absolutely nothing about dogs and our only consideration was that it was not going to get too big, that it was cute, and that it would get along with Dexter. After seeing all the dogs our hearts had softened to a black and white border collie/terrier mix. We named him Reggie and brought him home with us that night.
Those first few weeks were filled with nervousness, anxiety, amd excitement about our newest addition. We had no idea what to do so we were often online, looking up something in a book or calling the vet. Those first two months we took turns getting up every couple hours to take Reggie out to go potty. I quickly learned that puppies can hold their bladder for about one hour for every month of age. We were definitely not prepared for this responsibility. It was like having a newborn baby. We made a great team though, and my husband was wonderful. He would always take care of Reggie early in the morning so that I could get ready for work, and the days that I would have to work long or get up really early, he was always doing more than his part to make my life easier.
Now, we are dog and cat people. When we get together and people are sharing stories about their children, my husband and I smile at one another knowing that we are both thinking about our two little ones at home. Reggie is almost a year old. He gets along with Dexter pretty well. They love wrestling, although sometimes Reggie gets a little rough. We love playing and cuddling with Reggie and Dexter. We love getting them treats and toys when we go to the grocery store. We love taking pictures of them and talking about them and finding greeting cards and calendars with pictures that look like them. All in all, we are crazy about our animals. We love caring for them and it really brings my husband and me closer together. These little guys depend on us and together we bring enjoyment to each others lives.
This experience has definitely strengthened our relationship and if having children is anything like having pets, then I think that although it will be rough at times, it will be a great journey.
