Today I saw a bumper sticker that gave me a good laugh: Discover Wildlife- Raise Twins.
I couldn’t imagine. My two kiddos are 20 months apart and that is zoo enough for me. Two at the exact same age would probably be more than my rickety knees and/or delicate psyche could handle.
Pets, though, are another story. As much as I look on in horrified fascination at people with 4,5,6 kids and wonder how the heck they stay sane and solvent, I could very easily imagine myself waking up to four dogs running amuk. I kind of love that. Four dogs, three cats, a turtle, a small goat, and a handful of chickens. That would be amazing. Of course, I’d have to get a divorce in order for that to happen, but if my husband were as nuts as me, I’d totally go there.
Dogs are pack creatures. Cats, well, it depends, but I know for a fact that Apollo is a social guy and craves the attention of others. Growing up, I always had only one dog at a time. It wasn’t until I had Emmett and Mulan that I saw just how much dogs like being with other dogs.
(Emmett is probably just a little older than Brody is now in this pic. The resemblance still gets me every time.)
They were a team, those two: never Emmett or Mulan, always Emmett and Mulan. George and Gracie. Batman and Robin. Mermaidman and Barnacle Boy. They came into my life just how they left it, six months apart, and though my life was the poorer for it I sometimes wonder if Mulan was just so sad without Emmett that she managed to call him to her, out there on the Rainbow Bridge.
When Brody came into our lives, he was a singleton. My husband would have preferred it stay that way; why, I can’t fathom. Brody is as gregarious as they come, the Chairman of the Board, the official host of the house. Although he never knew any differently, I knew he was destined to have a buddy. He was lonely by himself. Sure, I was around, but I don’t speak dog. I don’t want to run around on the iceplant with him and play tug o war with a smelly bully stick and argue over who gets the last bite of pupsicle.
My husband wasn’t entirely sold on Kekoa, but he wasn’t really sold on Mulan at first either, and he got over it in a day or two. The same thing happened here. He waits until I go to sleep, then I hear him downstairs talking to them in a squeaky voice and tossing treats around like Willy Wonka at the chocolate factory.
They are the Yin and Yang of the house, Brody the one who’s always up for a romp with the kids, Koa the one they go crying to when Brody plays too hard and they need a hug and a kiss. They balance each other’s energy in a way that I, a mere human, can only gape at in wonder.
I am very happy to participate in the Pets Add Life campaign, because the goal is one I partake in everyday: sharing the joy of pets. The more, the merrier. You all already know I’d secretly like to be the Dog Duggar. How about you? Do you like your household the way it is? Would you have more if you could?
This post is sponsored by the Pets Add Life campaign and the American Pet Products Association. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the benefits and joys of pet ownership, which is pretty cool since that is pretty much what I do anyway.
Timely! My husband and I are looking to buy a house right now largely (at least in my mind) so Puzzle can have a friend. The whole home ownership thing scares the crud out of me, The only thing that keeps me from breaking down into perpetual renter status is the idea that with a yard and no lease, I can get another Brittany… and couple of kittens (for Puzz, of course, he loves kittens… I don’t want any for ME)… and start fostering… and maybe another dog in a couple of years…
I need to find a job that provided better discounts!
I had 2 cats and was quite happy with that. then I got 2 kittens to bottle raise and I was determined to give them back and find them good homes. the time came and I couldn’t do it. so I now have 4 cats and I think I’ll stick with that.
eventually my partner and I want to get a dog as well, maybe some guinea pigs too. I’m lucky that my fiancee is just as animal crazy as I am.
We are currently a one dog, 2 cats, 3 guinea pigs and a betta fish household. would love more but then i’d have to get that divorce… 🙁
We got Sadie our lab/shephard and I wanted another dog. I told my husband that I wanted to foster dogs from the pound so we got Bama our shephard/pyrenees to foster and my husband fell in love and we kept him. I love that you want chickens I do too:) And I want a donkey. I love donkeys:) My husband laughs when I say that.
Oooh, me too! I thought I was the only one who wanted a donkey.
We have 3 cats. Two cats we adopted as adults and they were raised in the same home. They have a love hate relationship. Magoo LOVES Mini, Mini often hates Magoo. Magoo is also very social and sweet and I think I am his buddy more then any cat could be. He wont leave my side from the time I walk in the door, he even sleeps on my head. Then there is George, a loving kind, sweet, goofy tabby. I often think he is rather on his own because the other two want nothing to do with him. We have thought about getting George a friend but Sean is dead set against another cat. I would like a kitten since I have had 4 cats and never once a kitten always adults. George was raised in a home with other cats and had a sister who stayed with her previous owner. When I think back the the times George lived in the human foster home, he was pretty solitary dude and love the girls the best not the other cats. Its hard but we make sure that he gets just a little bit more affection just in case he is lonesome.
Bailey was an only dog until she was 10. I was really happy with that and I think she was too. But as she got older we decided to get a younger dog also, because we had seen a lot of info about how bringing in a younger dog can sometimes help an older one. Well, it was a REALLY rough adjustment for a while and I felt terrible guilt for both Bailey and Sophie, because Bailey was pissed and Sophie didn’t understand why Bailey didn’t want to play. But they ended up fast friends — Sophie adored Bailey and it was very hard on her when Bailey passed away. It was only two months after that when we rescued Oscar, because I felt like Sophie really needed a companion. They get along famously. I personally would have more, but the hubby says no (and my neighborhood limits us to two, anyway). I confess that I miss the one-on-one relationship that I had with Bailey, but with these two I couldn’t imagine them not being together. I tend to think that when one of them goes, it will be a Mulan and Emmett situation…. My “more than two” will be when I finally get my sanctuary off the ground!
A very similar situation happened to me. Had a very solitary and bored 9 year old Lab, wanted to bring in a youngin’ to spice things up. SUCH a rough adjustment that I thought I’d have to take her back to the shelter! But now, although the pup annoys him most of the time, he does like that there’s another dog around to bark with him or scare off the birds in the yard. We still haven’t hit the “can’t stand not to be together” thing yet, but I think that will come when she grows out of the “puppy-ness” a bit.
YES! Bring on the animals! My husband and I are dying to adopt another cat (or two), but our current cat hates other animals, and her happiness is our first priority.
Always wanted four dogs. Four was my magic number. Blade was an only for almost 4 years and he was more of a people dog than a dog dog. He wanted to be with the people. Blade and Cookie never really played together, he preferred to referee other dogs playing. And Cookie is now the queen of the house on her own. She sort of took over Blade’s refereeing. I’m fostering Toby because I think she has a little bit of separation anxiety (chews a little spot on her leg when alone) and even though they don’t play together I think the company of each other helps them.
Plus I found all 28.8 lbs of him sleeping on her bed with her and she didn’t complain.
Some dogs prefer to have their homes to themselves. They prefer to get all the attention, all the treats, all the dishes to lick…..
I have had two dogs, mostly, and with some pairs it has been armed truce. I have never had two dogs who were friends. Peaceful roommates, yes; friends, no.
My current dog is very happy to be by himself and not have anyone bossing him around (most of my dogs have been herding dogs….).
” I’d secretly like to be the Dog Duggar” Hahahahahaha!!! I love it!
If i had it my way i’d have a house full of dogs.. currently have 2 dogs and 3 cats.. but like most my husband would divorce me if i brought home another dog. We got Poe last august by pure accident and my husband tried to convince me that i didn’t want him.. well.. that didn’t work! if my backyard was fenced in i’d have chickens and a small goat too! I’ve been wanting a goat for years! I’ve had the gamut of animals throughout the years.. guinea pigs, ferrets, chinchillas, snakes, spiders, fish (can those really be considered pets??), cats, and dogs. not sure if i could live a life without them. though sometimes i dream of not having to pick up poop, nasty hair balls and the shedding.. OOHH the shedding! My true goal is.. that someday when i have time i will foster dogs. I have a huge back yard and when i can fence it in and have more time at home I will make that one happen!
Well, I have 5 cats right now, and that is one too many, only because one doesn’t get along with the others. She would like to be the only pet in the house.
I know better now, but when I was a kid, I had a list of animals that I wanted to have when I grew up:
3 horses (A bay, an all white one, and one I call a ‘surfer horse”-dark tan body with almost white blond mane and tail)
A female red mini pincher so I could name her Duchess (We had a red Dobie named Princess)
An African Grey parrot
Sheltie
As an adult, I have added a few to my childhood wishlist:
A klee-kai (Mini husky)
a dachshund in australian shepherd colors
a lynx point siamese cat (Gorgeous!)
Shiba-inu
But having these 5 cats have made me realize that just wanting pets is not enough. If they don’t get long, your home won’t be a very happy place for them. We can’t have more cats because we have too many, we can’t have dogs because one cat was terrorized by dogs before we got her, we can’t have horses because we live in the city, so our backyard is people sized, not horse sized, and we can’t have birds because the cats would terrorize it.
Currently I have 2 dogs and 2 cats, but I would love more. Alas, the husband and house size won’t allow it. I’d love to add some exotics – a bearded dragon, a hedgehog, a couple alpacas…and maybe some different flavors of dog, as well. Some day I’ll get that big old farmhouse in the country with a lit of land. When that happens, watch out!!
Starr would love to have a playmate that spoke her language and love for all those stinky things. The droolier, the better. She’d like a mastiff pretty please…..
Our walkup, on the other hand, would not. Or the mastiff wouldn’t go well with the walkup.
Currently, 2 kitties, 2 budgies and one betta fish. I’d get the fish a friend…but that’s probably not a good idea. I agree, pairs seem to be the way to go 🙂
We currently have 2 cats. We’ve had Kozmo since he was a kitten, but by the time he was 2, we knew he needed a playmate. He would try to wrestle with us and ‘surprise attack’ my ankles. He just had too much energy. So we adopted Delila. Best idea ever. She is so mellow where he is more hyper and high strung. She tolerates his advances and loves to wrestle and be chased. No more ‘surprise attacks’ on humans by Kozmo!
Right now I’d just like to add a dog. I like the idea of two cats and a dog. I would love to have a whole house full of cats and dogs, but that’s just not realistic.
We have two cats. John desperately wants three cats, but then we’ll go from having a couple of cats to “those people with all the cats.” 🙂
Speaking of cats, if you haven’t seen this, it’s pretty funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHXBL6bzAR4 (That’s where I stole the “people with all the cats” line from.)
I currently have one totally ornery puggle, 2 fawn pugs, a black pug, and a 3 legged kitty. My puggle was soooo bored and destructive when she was an only child. I was looking for a playmate and found a young fawn pug that was being fostered with her brother. I simply couldn’t split them up since they were so bonded together. My kitty found me last mother’s day. I couldn’t leave a handicapped Mommy so close to mother’s day. (After finding homes for the kitties of course). My black pug is a mill rescue. After 3 months of medications we’re finally well on the way to being magnificent. Simply put I fear doglessness. They each add so much to my daily life and make my existence whole. Luckily my husband is a pugaholic also. LOL. Although to be fair it was forced upon him.
If I won a lottery I would love to have a ranch filled with critters of all sorts. But for now my smush faced herd is more than enough.
Hey Leigh, I don’t meet alot of other donkey lovers either:) I do read some blogs from people who have donkeys and get a little donkey fix that way. The lady I get my eggs from has donkeys so I got to ride one of them. Only another donkey person would know how much I loved it:)
I only made it through the first paragraph before I realized I was going to be nodding like a bobblehead the whole time 🙂 My ideal household has 4 dogs, 3/4 cats, and two fluffy bunnies. Boyfriend has other ideas (like, for instance, that the current 2 dogs/2 cats combo is good enough).
Maybe we ladies are crazy for wanting so many animals in our lives, but life really wouldn’t be the same (read: not nearly as hilarious and awesome … and sometimes aggravating!) without them 😀
When my husband and I moved in together, we ended up with 2 dogs, 4 cats and a fish. One of my cats, Gimli, ate the fish. My husband’s old cranky cat, Spanky, terrorized the dogs, so I found her a new home with a friend of mine who spoiled her rotten. Then we lost a cat last fall (he got out when we were away on holidays and never came back, sadly). So now we are down to 2 cats and 2 dogs and it is pretty perfect. They all get along wonderfully, although it took the dogs almost three years to get over the novelty of having cats around LOL. Actually they still have the odd “OMG, a CAT!!!” moment.
I would love to have more dogs, but since my husband cleans the dog run, he said I’d have to find a dog that doesn’t poop…
Growing up, we always had a ton of pets: cats, dogs, birds, fish, reptiles, and any injured wildlife, we would try to save it. I would love to have lots of pets but for now I just have 1 dog, Gilbert. When I first got him, my roommate had a dog and Gilbert just loved her. She totally bossed him around, but he loved it – I would take them to the dog park and Gilbert would just bother and play with Sallee, even with all the other dogs around. But then the roomie moved out and Gilbert has been single for the past 8 years. We are renters and it’s already hard enough to find place that will take 1 dog, especially 1 over 25 lbs, that I know having 2 would be even worse. If we were to own, I would think of getting another one. I’m also not sure how Gilbert would adjust – he is a “sensitive” (neurotic) dog, and when things change, he has issues (peeing in the house, diarheea, etc.) so I’m not eager to see how that would play out.
Eight years ago I moved to a small farm to accommodate my growing pack of dogs and cats. Now I’ve added horses, goats and chickens. Friends tell me for every animal I bring home, whether a temporary foster or permanent resident, I am one year farther away from finding a relationship to which I reply….Who cares? I sleep with different “men” every night…Hugo, Cooper, River, Butchie, Booker, Percy, Finney and not a one of them ever questions my love or my whereabouts. Though occasionally there is a little jealous! I can’t imagine a life without this kooky bunch of critters!
my little girl gets a dog when she turns 5….. in Feb. I had already thought it would be good to get 2 since I work. Not crazy hours, but work mostly full time none-the-less. this post sealed the deal. and since I am about to be divorced….it doesn’t matter what “the ole man” thinks! 🙂
Well, we are DOWN to two dogs . . . When we got married, I thought, six boys, I’d like six boys. God looked down and said, nah. Dogs, five dogs and one boy, that will work better for you. We were field trailing and training dogs and all of us in the house . . .people looked at us like we has three heads in those days, but the dogs were obedient and loved. They were actually better behaved than our son at times! Multiple dogs, definitely, they enjoy each other and they also bring out more of each other’s personalities.
I’d like another cat and dog, but my husband demurs, and since he works from home and would be in charge of the critters, he has veto power.
Mr. Kitty is pretty social, but Pupper Dog would be a challenge to find a friend for. She doesn’t like most dogs. My husband and I used to joke that we would get her a Rhodesian Ridgeback as a boy toy because she seemed to favor some leggy brown dogs.
If we got another cat, Pupper’s head would simply explode. She can barely deal with Mr. Kitty, and he is a most amiable creature (although like many cats can’t resist torturing Pupper every once in a while).
Now that I finally have a house I want to get Bella a friend. I am a bit nervous that she won’t like the change, but when I was a kid we always had 4-5 dogs at a time and they loved being together, so I’m hoping Bella will too. 🙂
I had 6 dogs (4 labs, a lab/bassett mix, and a bassett/corgi mix) until I lost Moose back in March. So now I’m down to 5 but about to foster another older lab (he’s 8). I love having all of them and I would get more if I could. I’m single and that’s one major benefit – I don’t have to get the okay from anyone but me to bring another animal home. I’d love a goat (to “mow” my grass for me) and a tortoise (I just think they are cool!). So yes, I’d love to be the Dog Duggard too!! 🙂
Found your website through…? But it is bookmarked!! So I have twin daughters, two horses, 6 chickens, and 2 dogs… and we are getting doggo #3 this weekend! My husband is as nuts as I am. We like it this way. 🙂
Dr V – I was a one dog owner for most of my life. First came Alicia, then Indy, then Aspen and then Daisy. But somewhere along the way, I fell in love with one little Sheltie (well actually two, brother and sister) that I fostered and decided to keep too. Suddenly Daisy had a buddy and things changed. She’s much more competitive for attention. She checks in on Jasper to make sure he is okay. She loves him and he loves her. I don’t know if I could go back to just one dog now. I’ve often pondered this question and wondered. We shall have to see.
Love your dog pics by the way!