A Whole List of Reasons

I told Scott last year that with our dog, Bella, aging and the loss of our beloved cat, Calvin, I didn't think we should get any more pets. I gave him the whole list of reasons it wasn't a good idea. In spite of all my logic, Scott asked me to bring back a cat every time I went to the animal shelter to take photos for Metro Animal Services.

I resisted, but my daughter, Courtney, and husband, Ron, decided to aid and abet Scott by bringing over Riley, their seal point Siamese, who was being terrorized by two year old grandson, Ben. Okay, so we're back to square one with one large dog and a cat.

I've distanced myself from all the cats and dogs whose photos I've taken in the last year. A few times my heart strings were pulled, but I resisted. So what on earth came over me when I viewed the shelter website a week and a half ago?! I saw the photo of a shaggy, medium sized dog - not a photo I had taken since there are three of us who are volunteer photographers. I immediately took an interest in his well-being. That was on New Year's Eve. Wednesday, January 2nd, I had to go to South Hill to the hardware store and thought, I'll just swing by to see if "Teddy" is still there - just a look/see - that's all.

Well, the rest is history. One look at Teddy - now renamed, Uncle Charlie - and I was hooked. (Actually the same thing had happend when we adopted Bella eight years ago). I brought Charlie home that afternoon.

I was told that Charlie was a stray, found in downtown Puyallup. He's a Toy Poodle/Maltese mix, about 8 years old, very gentle; he doesn't bark, great on a leash, gets along with both Bella and Riley (they both intimidate Charlie), is soft and cuddly, and Scott loves him too! He's passed the two year old grandsons' test. He just licks their faces when they get too close. And he's been transformed from a shaggy dog to a real cutie, whose eyes we can actually see!

Now the downside of Charlie: he weighs 20 pounds (probably fed from a table), has a skin infection that I'm treating with antibiotics, bad teeth - some of which may have to be pulled ($$$), and the real kicker - he's probably never had to go up or down stairs. So guess who has been acting as his elevator in our split level home? I was definitely getting my exercise, but came to my senses yesterday and got a leash that I hook around me to "help" him figure out how to go up and down stairs. It's working and has lessened accidents in the house.

There are times when the heart overtakes all logic and reason or is it that I'm still prone to impulsiveness from time to time? Maybe both. When that happens... your guess is as good as mine, but no, we're not going to adopt any more pets, because there's a whole list of reasons. :-)