Extra points for you if you immediately burst into a rousing base-beat-fueled chorus of Should I Stay Or Should I Go? by The Clash. You are my people.
The question remains... Should I? Or should I not?
I have almost always had a pet. Sure, there have been a few times in my life when one pet crossed the Rainbow Bridge and we waited a bit before adding another pet to the family. But, there was never a very long gap between pets.
When I came into the world, my family had a dog named Mr. Roberts. I'm not sure what breed of dog Mr. Roberts was, just a Big Dog. I was 2 years old when he passed on, so I don’t remember anything at all about him. But I do remember our next dog, Princess, the Dalmatian. Her claim to fame was birthing Sparky the puppy, who went on to become our city’s Fire Department mascot. To our utter delight, Sparky lived at the fire station and rode on the fire truck. Pics of my sis & me & puppies & Sparky & Fire Chief & Princess with more puppies.
After Princess, my family got an Airedale Terrier named Gypsy. She was still around when I left for college and met my future husband Rob. When Rob started coming around my family’s house, Gypsy was not amused. She always growled fiercely at him. Wanted him to get the heck out of Dodge and leave me alone, I guess.
My family also had a short stint with a Persian cat named Fluffy. We weren't really cat people, so Fluffy spent most of her time outdoors. We were dismayed when we returned home from vacation and found that she had disappeared, despite being cared for by our neighbor. A few years later, a feral cat chose to have a litter of kittens in the floorboard of one of our cars and, then again, under our house. We named her Cat. We fed her and considered Cat to be our pet, but I’m not sure that she agreed. She and her kittens came and went and eventually moved on.
As a married couple in the 1980s, Rob and I adopted Louise the Bloodhound. Louise was our cherished baby. She was a real piece a work, and we loved her dearly. She was the most instinct-driven pet we ever had. Louise was all about the nose and the scent. Not a lick of sense in her body. We pampered and loved on Louise all the time.
Later, Louise's buddy Otis the Beagle-mix joined our family and loudly announced his presence with typical incessant Beagle barking. They had a true sibling relationship--I love you so much, you annoy me so much.
Speaking of incessant barking, next in line was Zelly the Coonhound. Now, that dog could bark. So much so, that our frustrated neighbor used a decibel meter to measure the relative intensity and loudness of the yap, threatening to call code enforcement on us. Zelly was a very anxious, unbelievably crazy dog, but very intelligent. We tried to control her barking with a citronella spray bark deterrent collar, which "releases a gentle puff of spray" to the face to surprise the dog and (supposedly) suppress the barks. Zelly realized that if she closed her eyes real tightly and barked her brains out, the citronella spray bark deterrent cannister would run dry in a matter of minutes. After that, she could open her eyes and bark freely without consequence. She beat us at the game. We had to endure her persistent racket for years.
Jazz the Black Lab mix became Zelly’s new little sister. Shout out to my friends K & S who rescued her from the median of a busy highway and introduced her into our family. Zelly and Jazz jostled for attention and food and breathing space for years. Up against Zelly, Jazz almost always came out on the short end of the stick. Jazz had absolutely no sense of space and constantly got her body wedged into ridiculous positions that she could not escape. Jazz was a complete goofball. But, after Zelly passed on, Jazz really came into her own and became the most lovable eager-to-please dog that there ever was. She was a joy. A special little lady.
During that era, cats Mac and Sheena joined our household, being inherited from an elderly relative. The cats were definitely in the golden years of their lives. Rob is, how shall we say….. Not A Fan of Cats. Our experience with Mac and Sheena was…er….challenging. Besides trying to keep them safe from our dogs who had never been around cats and who had strong hunter instincts, we dealt with their declining health. Gross stuff came out of those cats all the time. After they both passed on, we ripped out all of our desecrated carpet and put in new flooring.
Besides those traditional family pets, we had many caged pets over the years. Seems like one or more of our kids was always vowing to take care of a furry, feathered, fluffy, scaley, or crustaceous critter. We cycled through our gerbils and hamsters Bonnie and Clyde, Blackberry, Spice, and Tess; our guinea pig Bay; our parakeet Dusty; our newt Fred; our turtle Marvayl; countless fish, whose names I can’t recall; and multiple iterations of hermit crabs, including Chuckie and Tommie and Grasshopper. Grasshopper fooled us all by pretending to die for a week. His poor shriveled body lay exposed in the sand in the aquarium tank while we all promised we would clean the tank as soon as we had a spare moment. Then, after about 7 days of that foolishness, Grasshopper got up, crawled into a new shell and carried on with his life. We knew about molting and all, but had never seen a crab play dead like that. He winked and with a gleam in his eye, said "Ha, ha, Gotcha!" Joke would have been on him if we had actually taken time to remove his "corpse" from the tank.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, we usually have at least one pet in our house. I couldn't find pics of everyone, but here are a few of them, may they rest in peace.
For the last 4 years, Franklin the tabby cat has lived with us. Adopted from the Humane Society, he refused to follow my daughter's plan, lasting only a few weeks in her college dorm room. Kicked out of college, he made himself at home with us and put his mark on everything. And by mark, I mean mark. And, by everything, I mean everything. Sofa, chairs, door frames, window seals, bed posts, anything and everything was fair game for his scratching. If you have need of sharp claws, we could gladly loan Franklin out to you.
But now, Franklin has officially moved. He moved out of state with my daughter this month. He actually flew in an airplane, and handled the trip very well. Here is the brand spankin’ new cat gym that they have set up for him and his companions in her apartment. He and his feline friends should have tons of fun navigating the wall. I am very happy for him. And, for my daughter, who will finally take full ownership of her little man.
Here at home, we are now pet-less. It is a very strange feeling. No one running to the door happy to greet me. No one for me to call out to or sing to or play with or mess with. No wiggles or snuggles. The house has a very empty vibe. There's no daily pet routine. In this quiet vacant house, I find that I am missing not only Frank, but all the pets that we have had along the way. It seems like something (or someone) is missing.
Will I get another pet? I just don’t know. I LOVE having a pet. Despite their quirks and frustrating behaviors, they enrich my life very much. My pets have been lovable and loyal.
Pets provide a unique type of companionship that you can’t get anywhere else. If you get tired of humans, like I sometimes do, pets can warm your heart and speak to your soul with unconditional affection. With a pet, someone is always there to listen. But, to be honest, with our recent Empty Nest Kennel status update……I sense the freedom of not having to deal with a pet when we have things to do, places to go, and people to see. I recognize the ease of maneuvering through life without the schedule of making arrangements for a pet or the guilt of leaving them behind. I look forward to the eradication of pet hair and cluttery toys. I’m not sorry that we won’t be paying heavy vet bills.
Although pet-less, we still have access to another daughter's Pit Bull mix named Sailor. Sailor makes herself at home wherever she goes, and she visits us from time to time. Sailor is, what you might call, needy, so we are exhausted grandparents after she stays a while. Love her, but she is a handful.
As advised by some, I think we need to take a minute before we make any new family commitments. But, I can't imagine not having a pet of some kind in the future. Would our house be a home without a pet? I dunno. Do I really want to take on all that responsibility again? I'm not sure. It's not a decision I need to make right now. But, in the back of my mind, I continue to consider it. Should I Yes? Or should I No?