Home Alone Pets

"Mommie, Mommie where are you going"? Whether it be work, shopping, or going out on a date or with friends for entertainment, the guilt is enormous for true fur baby owners when they leave their babies at home alone. What are they thinking? What are they doing? Do they have enough food? Water? Are they warm enough? Cool enough? Are they feeling neglected and scared I won' t come home, or loved and can't wait for me to come home. Those eyes! How do I leave those eyes? She/he seems off today. Is she/he sick? Should I stay home? The insecurities are endless, as I am sure they are for parents of humans.

Owners assume all that pets do is sleep all day. They do plenty of that! However there are shenanigans going on too. Take for instance Bailey, a St. Bernard, decides one Christmas Eve that she is going to slice her paw on landscaping edging while her owner is at church. Her owner comes home to blood all over the white tile kitchen floor. It looked like a murder scene! Or how about Liberty, another dog? While her owner was at work all day, she decides it would be a good idea to raid the pantry and ingest an entire loaf of bread.

Midas, a rambunctious puppy, had a thing for sprinkler heads. So, when Lisa, his doggy sitter, went to work, he decided to eat four sprinkler heads, costing his owners a bit of money. Let's not forget Frisky the cat. She thought it would be fun to take the toilet paper from the roll in the bathroom for a ride and spin it through the entire house. Kahlua, at a very young age, figured out how to unlock the latch on an outdoor gate. A neighbor finds her and returns her to the back yard. He told the owner he knew it was the right yard from all the puppy holes Kahlua had dug in the yard. Another day Kahlua decides she wants to say hello to her neighbor, Dolores. In person! So, she lifts a partially opened window, breaks through the screen, and runs across a street to greet her. Her owner comes home to a note taped to the door that says "Please come see me when you get home". That never sounds good! Taz the Boxer used to get socks from the laundry and put them on his owner's pillow to let them know he was thinking of them. He never chewed them. He just laid them gently on the pillow. The same owner also comes home occasionally to a favorite toy or bone on the bed from Zebulon, another dog, showing his love and loyalty. Last, but certainly not least, Buck decides he has a craving for ice cream. He pulls the bottom freezer drawer out, helps himself to a container of ice cream, and shares with his brother, Tuck!!

Let's face it, pets are mischievous at best. They cost us time, money, and grief. But at the end of the day, they greet us with adoration and unconditional love. It's what makes the dance all worth while.