I have been bugging J for quite some time about getting a pet. Several years, actually. When I lived in Montreal, my boyfriend (then) bought me a kitten for my birthday. His name was Pamplemousse. And he was cute and cuddly and wonderful. And two days later, he threw up a worm. A big, white, squiggly worm. I took him to the vet, and he needed to be put down. AWFUL. Then same boyfriend and I bought two brother kittens. They were AWESOME. There was M. Tigre and Champignon. Here are their pictures:
M. Tigre was a playful cat, and clearly the older brother. Always looking out for Champers. And Champers, was clearly the baby. He would paw at his brother as though he was nursing, and M. Tigre would always allow it to happen. When M. Tigre got sick and had to be put down, Champers was devastated. He moped for weeks. And then a second tragedy. Said boyfriend and I broke up. His family had fallen apart. But he had me. And I kept him. He would do that nursing thing in my hair in the morning. He liked to cuddle. And he somehow always knew when I was feeling bad. When I got pregnant, I couldn't feed him anymore. I couldn't stand the smell of the food. And I couldn't do the litter anymore, because of the risks. So J took care of him a lot. But, just after K was born, Champignon got really sick and had to be put down. It was awful. Then I was the one that was moping for weeks. And I didn't look at another animal until recently.
The girls have been asking to have a pet. And I still can't think about having a cat. So, when I talked to J about getting an animal, his instinct was to say no. We visited PetSmart a lot. We petted dogs, we gawked at cats through the glass.
I looked on the Humane Society Website and there was Milo. Well, actually his name was Maurice. And I sent the link to J. At first, he refused to look at it. Then when he did, we decided to go and visit that night. And before the night was over, we had put a deposit down.
The girls were so excited. They talked and talked about the dog on the way home. They talked about walking him, and cuddling with him. They talked about taking him outside, and taking him to the vet. J and I talked too. We talked about whether we were ready. We talked about what it meant to have a dog, good and bad.
Saturday morning, we picked up Milo. J chose the name. And E wanted Woofy. So, his official name is Milo Woofy.
He's so gentle with the kids. And with us. We haven't had a biting incident yet - but I imagine it will happen. He is only 2 months after all. Still LOTS to learn. For both of us.
