Pets

I was talking to my mom on the phone tonight, and she told me something I never realized before--that she never had any pets growing up, and she has never had a fondness for animals. Apparently my poor grandfather got bit by a dog at some point, and--I don't know the whole connection there, but, she never had a pet, okay? Actually, she said she did have a cat for a short time, which they took in as a stray, but it immediately had kittens, which they then had to euthanize. You start to get the picture.

So my mom has never had a thing for animals. This despite the fact that we always had an animal, sometimes multiple animals, running around our house when I was growing up. As of tonight I realize that was all my dad's doing, and my mom quietly went along with it. Hmm.

Well, I've gotta say, I love dogs. My brother loves dogs. My sister loves dogs--and trains horses for a living. My kids love dogs. It's difficult for me to imagine not loving dogs. It's difficult for me to imagine anyone not loving dogs.

So to my mom and dad I say, thank you for having pets in our household when we were growing up. It's added an undeniable amount of happiness to my life. And to my mom I say, you're a trooper. And to my dad I say, you owe Mom a nice dinner.