For all the animal lovers out there, I'm sure you were wondering if I'd ever get to the subject. It might have taken me 20 some odd pieces to do it, but I'm finally here. If you were to ask me straight on about the pets, I would tell you that they are a pain in the butt! I will claim that NONE of the pets we own are mine. The sad part is that I'm the main one who is taking care of them. Jaimee and I are trying to put more responsibility on the twins with their dogs, but I find myself still doing some of the work...i.e. cat puke! When it comes to me and pets - it really is a love/hate relationship. Mind you that in the over two decades we’ve been married, we’ve had rats, rabbits, Guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, turtles, dogs, cats, fish and even mice as pets!
I need to give you the run down on the pets. We have (currently) 3 dogs, 2 cats and a turtle. Jaimee has her Chihuahua/Dachshund mix [Ruthie]; Christen has her Pug [Nami] and the psycho cat [Evie]. Sarah has her dog (not sure on the breed) Annie and the Calico - Sheba. The girls will tell you that actually, Sheba is my cat, but it's more like I'm her human. {Honestly, she doesn't really like Jaimee too much only because she's the competition...I'm not kidding.} She will sit in the bathroom with me when I take a shower. When Jaimee leaves for a day or two, Sheba will lay on the bed with me at night...Creepy!
The main reason for the twin's animals is the pet therapy. Since they both have Asperger's, there are several written studies about the positive effect on autistic children with animals. Feel free to do a Google search on it; I know you'll find a whole host of different studies and programs based on the animal therapy. I think my wife would admit that I might need some animal therapy! (You know I can hear you laughing...)
When Jaimee and I first started out as a couple, we had one cat. His name was Oscar and he was a white Persian cat. The only reason why we gave him up was because Jaimee got pregnant with Alicia. I think when all the girls leave the roost and all the dogs, cats and turtle are gone; we'll probably go back to a white Persian cat again...at least I hope so. (Sigh) The worst part about all this animal craziness is I'm still getting older and trying to take care of them is getting harder. Oh, by the way, it doesn't help when my oldest daughter has a dog of HER own...a Rottweiler named Sookie. She's sweet, but a real hand full!
Song of Inspiration [Check it out on iTunes!]:
Song: "Therapy"
Artist: Relient K
Album: Forget and Not Slow Down