When I was growing up in Alexandria, Virginia, we grew up around dogs, specifically dachshunds and always a male. His name was Rebel, and he lived to be over 20 years old when our father finally had to put him down due to the old age pain he was feeling. Our father said that was the hardest thing he ever had to do and refused to have another animal after that - and he did not.
During my first marriage we did not have any animals for the first 15 years, then a friend of mine could not take care of this lab due to the apartment complex rules; he had been forced to take the dog as a result of a divorce. So, my wife and I agreed to take him. Eight years later, we got a divorce, and my ex-wife kept the dog.
Five years later when I got married for a second time, we took in stray cats right after we got married, a mother and her son. They were outside/inside cats but primarily outside. The son died after 12 years; the mother died after fifteen. She was blind and had caught pneumonia, so we had to put her down. Her son had a heart attack while playing with my wife.
Right before the mother died, my wife needed a replaced for the son to whom she had grown very attached. As a result, we got a stray from the animal pound, the a few weeks later we got a rescue cat from a animal rescue organization, then a few weeks after that, we got a Siamese cat that we had been tricked into believing was still a kitten.
After 14 years we still have these three cats who are primarily indoor cats and have grown into becoming part of the family. When we go on vacation, we arrange for someone to come by and feed them once a day while we are gone. Cats are easier to take care of than dogs and do not have to be house broken or walked. However, these three cats present attention issues and the Siamese knows when it is time to go to the vet.
After these we will have no more animals.
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