FOUR BROTHERS FINALLY GET A BABY SISTER

Growing up I always thought I was “cat” person because that was my mother’s pet of choice. My mother came from a family of cat lovers so it isn’t surprising we always had a pet cat growing up. I always loved cats and a few times our cats even had kittens. That was so exciting!

As I got older I started showing an interest in dogs. I still liked cats but dogs were my favorite. Finally, when I was in my mid-twenties, I got my first puppy, Barney, the Old English Sheepdog. He was my dream dog. My sisters always made fun of me because he was named after Saint Barnabas. All my pet names have a meaning and since they are my pets, I get to choose the names! I loved Barney and have wonderful memories of our time together. I was devastated when he passed away. Being a first-time dog owner, I thought I could nurse him back to health but he was too sick. I tried so hard to keep him alive when I should have had him put to sleep. I caused him unnecessary pain because I loved him SO much and didn’t want to lose him. I wish I would have made a better decision but what I did, I did out of my love for him.

Next came Cosmas and Damian, my two cockapoos. You guessed it! They were named after Saints Cosmas and Damian. They weren’t biologically related but they were still brothers. They were so cute together. Cosmas was chubby and bossy and Damian was slim and quiet. They got along and the two of them would run and play together, as long as Cosmas was the leader, of course. One day the two of them took a road trip to visit my sister. She didn’t live far away but how they found their way to her house I will never understand. Cosmas is still with me today. He is a little hard of hearing and is moving a little slower but I am so thankful to have him at 13 years of age. Sadly, Damian passed away when he was 11 years old.

As I mentioned earlier, I did not grow up with dogs and I am practically the only person in the family who loves them so much. I decided that it would be a good idea to have dogs of different ages so that if one would pass away then I would have other dogs so the loss wouldn’t be so hard. Boy, was I wrong! It doesn't matter how many dogs you have because when one passes away nothing will make it any easier.

I was in a bad car accident in December 2011 so to lift my spirits I added to the family. I always loved Old English Sheepdogs but they are a little too big for me to handle on my own so I decided to get a mini Sheepadoodle. The only problem is that he really isn’t that mini! He is named after Saint Francis of Assisi but we call him Francie. He was a bugger from the beginning and he still is but he did lift my spirits. He is nine years old now and has his health problems but he seems happy. I just love his enthusiastic personality!

A mini Labradoodle caught my eye in 2015. He was brown and white and his owner was sick so he was up for adoption. My family warned me that four dogs were too many for me to care for but my career was ruined by the car accident, I was always home and I was terribly depressed. Honestly, I adopted him without telling anyone but my sister and I only told her because I needed someone to drive me to the airport to pick him up. Due to my bad eyesight I cannot drive far. I figured they would all fall in love with him once they saw him and and I was right. Who couldn’t love that face? He is a pretty smart, well-behaved dog. He is named after Saint Blaise and today he is six years old. He gets along with the other dogs okay but I can't help but think he wishes he was an only child!😂

So I had four dogs and I did struggle to take care of them all. When I was sick or in the hospital my family did take care of them for me. But I have to say the dogs really did help my depression because no matter how bad I felt I had to get out of bed to take care of them. Then in 2019 when Damian passed away my father and sister told me that I should not get another dog. But I was extremely depressed and I missed Damian so much that my cousin took me to get another cockapoo. I thought I would be able to find one with a personality just like Damian. I was wrong again! There will never be another Damian.

The newest member of my furry family is named after Saint Maximilian Kolbe but we call him Kolbe. He is sweet but not in the same way as Damian. I guess I am the type of person that has to learn everything the hard way. But I love Kolbe and his shy little personality. He likes to run around and play with Blaise. The funny part of the story is that I told my father and sister that I was dog sitting him for a friend. Kolbe was a month old before they found out he was actually part of the family!

So today I have four dogs and two of them have health problems but I take care of them the best I can. The most challenging part is taking them to the veterinarian because of driving limitations but my dad helps me out. Well, I never thought I would do it but I adopted a kitten just recently. By the way, all of my dogs are males if you aren’t familiar with their names. The new little kitten is a girl so the boys now have a baby sister! She really is a sweet kitten and Kolbe just loves her. The other three dogs could take her or leave her. The kitten is named Joanne after my mother but we call her JoJo. JoJo thinks Kolbe is her mother! I will be getting JoJo fixed as soon as she is old enough because four dogs and one cat is all that I can take care of but I love each one of them so very much! I still struggle daily with depression and anxiety and if you do as well, I would recommend adopting a pet because they do make things better. However, I wouldn’t recommend adopting five!😉