PETS | FAMILY | COMPANIONSHIP | LOVE | DEVOTION
Coco — the Loud Barking, Treat-Mongering Beggar of a Rescue Mutt We Proudly Call Ours
Marriage and pets are very similar to one another. I say that with supreme confidence that I am right. How do I know? Because, when I stated that to my wife, she first cautioned me (something about walking on thin ice), then asked the obvious question.
“How?” she asked.
So, I told her: “Pets and marriage are very much alike because they both take a lifelong commitment,” I said it emphatically, using the best authoritative voice I could muster. I didn’t want any doubt creeping into my words as they shot out of my mouth.
She thought about it for a moment, then nodded her agreement and said: “Yeah, I guess so.”
Success! Having won a minor agreement from her meant I could put my plan into place. My first step would be to find a pet that she could live with in harmony. That ruled out cats right away. She was extremely allergic to cats. We had found that out the hard way.
My daughter had found a stray kitten at her school one day and, as fourth graders will do, brought it home begging us to let her keep it. At first, my wife said yes, figuring we could give it a shot and see how it goes.
Twenty minutes later, her eyes were all puffed up to where she could barely lift her eyelids, she began dry coughing for no apparent reason, and her nose was all red and dripping like a water faucet.
Five minutes after that, I loaded the kitty into the car for a short ride to our local pet store. I dropped it off with them, explaining the circumstances, and they accepted responsibility for it. So, no cats for us!
Next, I turned to dogs. We had owned a dog for 12 years once during our marriage. It was a Lhasa Apso we named Honcho. He was a well-behaved fur ball, but he was also high maintenance. Hair always needed to be trimmed, he needed to be bathed after six or seven days, otherwise he would stink. He developed a case of ear mites we had to treat as well.
