30 Days of Thankfulness - Day 6

Today, I am thankful for our pets.

Growing up, I had fish and a dalmatian named Sugar. We only had Sugar for a few years, and we had to find her a new home when we moved from our Lakewood house. Other than that, I didn't have any other pets and never really considered myself an "animal lover." Not that I didn't like animals, I just never really appreciated or understood the bond between a person and their pets.


Stefan had dogs and cats growing up. I'll be honest, I never really liked cats. I was allergic to them and my best friend Angie had one growing up and it was the meanest cat in the world. I went to her house every day after school and it would always hiss at me. That cat didn't really like anyone.


When we were in college at UPS, Stefan thought it was time for a kitten. Yes, kittens are adorable but I didn't think I would really get "attached" to a dang cat. We got Zoe from the humane society and a year and a half later, got Oliver from the same humane society. I never thought cats had personalities, but they really do. Zoe is very dainty and sweet, not much of a cuddler, but loves affection. Oliver is pretty outgoing, he's very vocal and likes to sit at the top of the stairs and howl to get our attention. He's also allergic to feathers, trees and several other things, including.... humans.

A few years later, we stopped into a pet store and fell in love with a little black cat, who we named Carlo. Carlo was the sweetest little kitten, but didn't stay with us for very long. He had a liver problem and we had to put him down when he was only 2.


Then came the dogs. Two months after we got married, we became the parents to two crazy little weimaraner puppies. We originally were only going to get one (Brooklyn) but they were just the cutest things in the world, and Stefan fell in love with Bentley, so we ended up getting both of them. I'd like to think it was one of the best decision we've ever made... they are the best of friends and get along so well. They've taught us so much about patience and love - I can't imagine my life without them, or any of our animals.

In January of 2008 (right after we moved to Arizona), we got Tucker. He's also a black cat and was our attempt at "replacing" Carlo. While he looks pretty similar, he's got a very funny personality. He thinks he's a dog, and we often find him laying on the dog beds with Brooklyn and Bentley. I'm not sure if it's a black cat thing, but last year we had some emergency vet visits with Tucker and he ended up having a pretty serious liver problem as well. Over $8k later and visits from both "grandpas" to help feed him through a tube for a couple months while we were working, he's now happy, healthy and very spunky.

There really is nothing like the bond a pet parent has with their pets. No matter what you do, they just want to make you happy. While they can be expensive and sometimes break things and drive us crazy, their intentions are always usually good.