My Pets: The Joys of My Life

I love my pets. They are a wonderful source of enjoyment. The antics they pull and the things they get into are hysterical at times. Sometimes it isn't funny at all and an injury has to be taken care. It is then when you realize just how much your pet means to you. You see, they aren't just some "dumb" animal like a few people may think. No, my pet (and the pets of many others) are family members. They are my "other" children whom I take care of, love, and cherish. Yep, they are my joy and love and they give me unconditional love back. We have 5 babies. Two dogs and three cats. Each and every one of them is unique and special in their own way. Their personalities are distinct and they are completely in control of the house. That's right! They control and own us; we do not own them. Each one chose their favorite human and spend a great deal of time with that one. However, they do give love to the other humans in the house as well. My daughter is the pet of two male cats. They love her and dote on her. The one even disciplines her if she utters a, hmmm, shall we say a naughty word. How he knows the difference is amazing, but he is right there for her when ever she needs him. That's why we were so worried when he became injured after playing with the other male. He wound up at the Vets 3 times last week and he is finally on the mend. Seeing him in so much pain and taking care of him this past week was a sharp reminder of just how important he and the others are to us. Thankfully, he is getting better and is jumping on and off my daughter's bed. It's great to see him coming back to full health and strength.

Now the newest member is young Mikael. He is incredibly mischeivious, but this is due to his only being 5 months old. Mikael is into everything. He has climbed the living room drapes; he has clawed a bottle of Coke; he runs behind the sofas and flys across their backs; he attacks toes and feet when we are asleep; and he jumps and tumbles with the other ones as well. Mikael, is a reminder of what it is to be young and new to the world for he is intensely curious and watches everything. The most comical thing he has done was flushing the toilet and then racing away from it at full speed. Yes, he flushes toilets...like I said, he's curious! He has also gained the nickname "Goat" due to his eating everything in sight; and "Spawn of Satan" due to his devilish antics. He didn't always have it so good. My daughter found him under her car during a rain storm. He was tiny, scared, cold, wet, and hungry. He was screaming so loudly my daughter went out to find him...Mikael came to her and has been with us since. We've always wondered where he came from but nobody ever claimed him. He is our love and joy for he brought sunshine to us on a rainy day.

Padme is an amazing cat. She is our oldest cat and is going to be 10 years old this year. She hippity hops around and is small and compact. Padme gives love to all of us, and is highly independent. She and Vader are a loving couple (yes, all of our pets are "fixed") and she tolerates young Mikael (well, sort of). She did a back flip this morning off a wall and raced through the house. She may be the oldest of the 3 cats, but she is still very playful and full of mischief. A sweet girl with a big heart and a loud purr who loves to cuddle up, but only when she wants to!

Now, the pups are a world all their own. Loyal, loving, playful, and protective; they fill our home with the yips and barks of happiness and of protection. They are both companions to us and to each other; backing one another up when "battling" with the cats. They are hilarious and full of fun. They smile at us, laugh, and romp around the house with complete freedom. They frolic outside and chase toads and lizards. Full of love, they show their joy of seeing us when we come home with plenty of wet kisses, barks, yips, tail wagging and thumping!

Yep, our babies control us. They shower us with love, companionship, antics, and joy. They give much and take little. They are distinct, separate, and full of their own personalities and quirks. Yet, there are those who deem them nothing but a dumb animal. Others consider them less worthy and trivial. These wonderful companions are thought to be souless as well. To put it bluntly, animals were given to humanity in order for us to be stewards of them; not to exploit them. They are our hope and bring us resources for needs. Yes, the animal kingdom is important to humanity; after all are we really anything more than animals ourselves? How many times do we call someone an animal as though to degrade them? I wonder if the truth is, we humans are the animals, and are the real beasts of the world. It is a question I ponder from time to time why humanity seems on a collision course with destroying the very beings we need in order to survive. Yes, the five that we share our home with are members of our family. We share our loves, happiness, sadness, and joy with one another. We listen and hear each other and have learned to understand the language of all our children. This is my home and family. I hope that yours is just as wonderful and joyfull as mine.