Our first animal was a black schipperke puppy who came into our lives a few months after our youngest son. Akilah is a spectacularly loyal and protective dog who barks at the slightest noise. She makes me feel safe and annoyed all at the same time. She has been with us eleven years now and I love her dearly despite the fact that I wanted to get rid of her many times, including the time she bit the Fed Ex man.
While we had a number of fish over the years, it was a while before another mammal wriggled its way into our house. There was the hamster who lived two years before becoming frail and unable to feed itself. Brownie was the first of a few small animals we took to the vet for a $7.00 euthanasia shot. I just can't stand to see animals suffer.
I decided at some point that hamsters were not the ideal pets as their main goal in life is 'escape'. Our next rodant-like pet was a guinea pig who was all about just 'being' without any real inclination to go anywhere. Brownie the Second lived only a few months before accidentally being hurt by our very young son (my fault for not providing adequate supervision). I feel bad for Brownie's demise and she was our second visit to the vet for the $7 please-end-this-animal's-as-well-as-my suffering. This was only one of a million times I was sure my 'mom of the year' prize would be instantly revoked.
At this point, the number of animal plots was growing in the back yard as every death was accompanied by an appropriately formal burial. A second guinea pig also lasted only a few months and passed quickly when a friend's son fell on him. This second rodent death was a serious blow to my sense of self-worth as a mother as I took full responsibility for the short life of another piggie.
Six and a half years ago two guinea pigs came home with us; smiling assurances were given that they were both girls. In hindsight, I should have known that the pet store clerk was just pretending to know how to tell the difference. In short order our two piggies turned into a male (we presumed) and an ever-expanding female.
The male was shipped off to a friend's and on New Year's eve 2003, four of the cutest little guinea pigs were born under the watchful eye of our protective schipperke. The dog had grown very fond of the piggies and liked to sit on the back of the couch and look at them in their cage. We kept the females, Pumpkin and Midnight, while we found loving homes for the males, Marshmallow and some other aptly-named furball.
I assumed that the piggies would require a limited number of years of care. I was wrong. It's been six long years now and I'm still caring for the things. I feel bad for wishing that they weren't living such long hay-chomping years but I've come to terms with my guilt and already picked out their burial plots under the palm tree in the front yard.
I haven't yet mentioned the rat that lived with us for a time (came home after a school project about feeding rats junk food) and our new second dog that someone dumped down the gravel road from my grandparent's in Illinois. However, despite all this whining about the animals and my irritation at still having to care for them, I am glad the kids had the opportunity to have them around. There is something very special about a child caring for an animal.
However, after these two fortuitous little piggies pass on from this rubbermaid-tub-on-the-lanai life, I'm done with anything weighing so little that requires on-going fiber supplementation. From now on, we're sticking with the dogs.
