How About Those Pets?

We are ruled by pets at our house. Since we don't have any children, these pets have become our furry substitutes. We currently have 2 dogs and 1 cat living in our house. I am the lenient parent and Rick is the strict one. I let them get away with more naughty things than Rick does, so they usually come to me first for treats and they always prefer to sleep next to me, so I'll take that as affirmation that they love me more!

We finally broke down and got a king-size bed so there was room for everyone.

Daisy was a good sport and always played very nicely with Sophie.

Daisy is our oldest dog and she turned 14 last month. She has finally started to calm down a little bit, but get out the gun and she's prancing around and barking because she thinks it's time to go hunting. She's getting a little hard of hearing (Rick thinks it's just selective to my voice) and takes some medication for urinary incontinence, but for her age, she's in amazingly good health. We don't know how much longer we'll be lucky enough to have her around and we cherish every day we have her.

Daisy was also a good sport when it came to Penny's silly games.

Penny is our next oldest pet. She was 11 in March. I got her from a co-worker who lived on a farm. She's been a pretty good kitty and gets along really well with the dogs. She loves to eat and unfortunately she's somewhat overweight for which the vet always scolds us.

Penny gets a tablespoon of Fancy Feast every night on the counter so she doesn't have to bother me when I'm making supper.

Our youngest pet is Sophie (also a German Shorthair). She will be 10 in October. I think Sophie is awfully cute, but she definitely isn't as smart as Daisy. She's had a multitude of health problems since she was a puppy and I've spent a fortune on her, but every day she makes me laugh with something goofy that she does. She loves food of any kind and chasing squirrels.

Sophie is always hungry and will go to any length to get to that last bit of kibble!

Sophie has the really annoying habit of sticking her nose under the covers and rooting around like a pig until she has all the blankets pushed down to the bottom of the bed and then she lays down on the jumble of covers.

I have worked with lots of different people and it was interesting to me how people who didn't have pets or didn't like animals would react to stories the rest of us pet owners would tell at work or coffee break. One of the women I used to work with wouldn't eat any treats that I brought to work because I happened to mention one day that my cat goes on the kitchen counter.

Penny has her food and water on the dining room table so the dogs don't eat it. When people come over to the house, I always have to try and remember to take it off the table so people who aren't pet owners don't get grossed out. I always like to see picture of other people's pets sitting on the chair and eating food at the table, because I know how it is to be owned by pets and it's nice to know that I'm not the only person who allows (encourages) this sort of activity.

Daisy, Sophie, and their cousin Shelby waiting for treats.

These pets are always happy to see us when we get home--even if we've only been gone for 10 minutes, they eat anything we give them, they don't complain when it's too cold to go potty outside, and we will never have to buy them a cellphone!