Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Cats Were My Gateway Drug

Anybody that loves animals and loves having pets has one animal that probably started the downward spiral into an apartment/condo/house/street corner filled with pets. I'm not talking about Animal Hoarders filled because that is just vile and is something I can't even stand to watch on tv. I'm talking about anyone that got (hopefully adopted) a pet and then just wanted one more...but still has the willpower to stop, stand back and realize "whoa whoa whoa...there is no way I can adopt another animal right now. My current ratio of humans to iguana/kitten/ ferret/mini horses is just right!"

My gateway pets were Luigi and Sofia. I got them when I was 24 and was less than responsible. I spent most of my weekends drinking in Portsmouth. The great thing about cats is that they are relatively easy to care for. I could leave for a day or two knowing they would be OK and love me even more when I got back. Eventually, this led to wanting a dog. Enter Ollie and my almost obsession with shelters, animal rescue, dogs and cats.

I love Ollie, Luigi and Sofia to the moon and back and would love to get another dog (read: blue and white female pitbull) to round out the bunch. You know, even the score for Ollie. Give him a buddy/girlfriend to romp around with and another warm body to help me with heat bills in the winter. Two cats and two dogs sounds perfect. Plus I fall in love with a new dog every week at Cocheco. Thankfully, I have the wherewithal to know that getting/adopting another pet (with the exception of a pet rock) would be downright asinine right now. I can just barely squeak by with the vet bills/food costs of three and would be bankrupt with four. On top of that, I would lose my f'n mind roughly 135 times a day. Too. Many. Animals.

This of course has never stopped me from searching endlessly on Petfinder, Adopt A Pet and local shelters for the perfect # 4...you know, just in case. This tends to be heartbreaking seeing dogs still on these websites weeks and months after you originally spotted them. To curb my sadness I imagine the families they will get adopted into and how happy they will be. Sometimes I take weeks off from doing this because it just gets too tough. Inevitably, I come crawling back looking for my next perfect pittie fix because like any good gateway drug you're always craving something more...just a little bit more...just one more and then I will quit I promise. Gateway cats...they're dangerous.

1 comment:

  1. The beautiful little girl in this post is my new doggie fix. Her name is Gloria, Sue lives in West Virginia and I'm in love with her

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