We, as a family, believe that it is better to rescue a pet from a shelter and save a life, than buy one at a pet store. I have heard over and over that if you don't get a pet as a baby that they will never attach to you. I know for a fact that this isn't true. All of our family pets have been rescued and all of them were at least a year old, and each and every one of them has been an amazing family member. Aimee is a 12 year old Golden Lab/Beagle and she is the mother of the group. The Cuteness (yes, that is his actual name) is a male medium hair cat who is 13 years old and he is our chatty diva who makes nests in clean laundry. Then there is Gizzy, a 7 year old Ragdoll, who she is glued to my eldest daughter every waking moment. We call her the "stalker." When my daughter watches tv, Gizzy lies on the back of the sofa behind her. When my daughter goes to sleep, Gizzy crawls into her bed. What is particularly wonderful is that they all get together amazingly.
We never knew when we rescued Bobby from a high kill shelter three years ago that he would win over our hearts so completely and become another integral part of our family. What drew us to him was that he kept rubbing himself against the glass wherever we were, and he "spoke" to us. He looked at us directly and meowed a warm little meow. He was a sociable little kitty that needed a good home. The ladies working the shelter couldn't believe that he hadn't found a home yet because he was so sweet. When they told us that he was scheduled to be euthanized all of the kids eyes darted to me with question marks in their expressions. How could I refuse? A little nod of my head and they all cheered.
The funny thing is that we had never expected to adopt a new pet that day. We had to go out of town because my son had an exam to write, and rather than drive all the way there and back and there again, I took the opportunity to have a day out with the rest of the kids. We took a walk through the town and my littlest one saw the shelter and asked if we could just take a peek at the animals. I flatly told her that we absolutely would not be bringing home yet another animal. At that point we had two cats, a dog, and two turtles (all rescues). With four kids and our menagerie, our house was already full. The kids agreed to my condition and in we went. Little did I know that we would be leaving with a new family member. And you can't imagine my son's surprise when he got into the car after his exam to find Bobby pleasantly meowing in a new kennel.
During his first year with us Bobby was a complete spaz. Even though he was two years old, he tore through the house like a kitten. I guess he had been cooped up for so long that he needed to stretch his legs. The other cats hated him. He would taunt them and torment them and chase them. Our dog, Aimee, wanted to be friends, but Bobby was so high strung, he was like a wild Tigger...bouncy bouncy bouncy. Our dog loves cats. She grooms them and tussles with them gently...she is like their mother. But Bobby didn't trust her and didn't know that he had nothing to fear. But Bobby came around. Aimee was patient. She took swats to her tender nose in stride. She never reacted badly. And then came the day that I knew things were going to be all right. Bobby conked heads with Aimee. That seemed to be the turnaround. Once Bobby made peace with Aimee, the other cats mended their fences too. Now we are all one huge happy family.
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