Family Expansion 5/21/2023

By: Jennifer Richardson Holt

This is a big weekend for our family. By the time this posts we will have morphed from a simple family of 4 with a daddy, a mom, a daughter and a cat, into a family of 5.  We will add a puppy.  Now anyone reading this that has ever had the pleasure of raising a canine may be nodding knowingly.  I can’t see the context of your nod so it could be accompanied by a grimace, the product of tiny sharp teeth and piles of unmentionable substances.  You could just as easily be smiling warmly filled with thoughts of snuggles and overzealous tongues.  Either way this is going to be an experience. It will be my daughter’s first dog, and she is an animal lover to the core so there will assuredly be a strong excitement factor. But if I am honest, I am nervous. I haven’t ever raised a dog from a puppy. I like to think I can cope as I have most assuredly seen all manner of individual pull it off before.  But then again, I know that getting a cat is like getting a roommate while having a dog is like having a baby. And I must say that sentiment leaves me a tad on the disconcerted side.

When my husband and I got married he already had a dog and I a cat.  And before anyone makes any assumptions, no, these pets are not reflective of our preferences.  Well, I say that, but then again, they might be a bit. If I were to have a pet, which obviously I do but speaking theoretically here, I’d likely choose a cat first because, if we’re being honest, they don’t require quite as much effort as they are rather independent and not nearly as demanding as a dog.  The side of me that is prone to sloth is certainly what prefers this. I do like dogs though and their penchant for unbridled affection definitely has its appeal. While my husband has certainly grown to love our cat and I do believe the feeling is mutual, I would have to say he leans more to being a dog person. We’re also getting the same breed of dog that was the one he had when we were married and to say that he is the most excited in the house about our canine addition is a tad of an understatement.

We’ve had our cat for a little over 3 years now and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. He has been the furry king of our household for some time now and to add another and of all things a canine, not to mention a juvenile canine, I can only hope that he does not disown us and move out. I feel though, judging by his fondness for being regularly fed I don’t think he’d leave us, but he could very well hold a grudge.  He is a cat after all. They are professional in exhibiting disdain.  I really hate that I can’t warn him more appropriately about what is coming.  I mean I have told him, and I do believe he understands far more than what most people would give him credit for but I am not certain that he truly grasps the magnitude of how his life is about to change.  Then again, I’m not sure that I do either.  I am not sure any of us do really. Oh, writing this I am getting more nervous.  What are we getting ourselves into?  I mean yes everyone loves puppies until it’s getting up in the middle of the night and your favorite whatnots being chewed and other such joys.  It really is like having a baby; lots of lovely bits mingled against weariness.  I can be happy that dogs reach adulthood far quicker than children though. That and you can just close a dog in a room for a time if it’s necessary which is handy.

As I am writing this there is heavy purring near me.  My beloved feline is lounging nearby sounding like a congested tractor.  I want to give him all the extra affection since his reign of singular pethood shall soon be ending.  All three of us just gave him all the scratches and I can only describe his facial expression as suspicious.  I think he is on to us. I think she suspects we are up to no good. Oh, bless him, he has no idea that an adorable little ball of energy with sharp teeth is going to suddenly be taking up far more of his personal space than he’d prefer.   

He’s moved away and is now innocently sleeping on the floor.  Before long he might not be able to sleep unhindered on the floor anymore. I have made sure I tell him over and over lately that he is my favorite handsome feline man.  I hope he believes I mean it. While I have no doubt that a new puppy will be precious, I want him to know that this family has enough love to disperse to all the little fuzzy creatures.  So, I guess I have rambled all throughout the entire contents of this blog to say, keep us in your prayers.  We’re taking on a new adventure. I know I’m probably overreacting. It’s a dog and it will be fine.  Surely, we can’t mess her up that badly, right?  Anyway, the next time you see a pet, of any sort, remember my family. We’re traveling a new road these days, and it might be a more chewed road than most.