It’s better in pairs
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.
