by Daniella Antelo

Created on: April 10, 2009

I have had pets all of my life and they have always been a blessing to our household. I've never had a "quiet" house. In total, there have been 20 dogs and 23 cats, (three litters included), that have come, lived and left. The more, the merrier! Is what our families motto was, I guess. Since I've been living on my own I've always had three animals at a time, currently with two dogs and one cat.

Being single, I like having the security of the two big, male dogs. I also like their companionship and loyalty. Having a cat around, although slightly hairy, is wonderful because she is self sufficient but loves your attention. She is easy to please too. She constantly welcomes you at the door, when you come home the dogs are jumping all over the place, eager to play. I have a responsibility to them as they have to me. They relieve stress from me because they keep me grounded and make me feel safe in my home.

They can drive me batty too, though. I mean they aren't perfect, they're animals. Stress is a part of the whole "responsibility thing." They shed, throw-up, urinate, defecate, bark, scratch, etc. Following all of that, you have to constantly vacuum and dust, and use the lint roller on your clothes. There's hair that get's into the kitchen, in vents and on the tables. You have to spend time with the Prosolve and Shout to scrub out accidents on your carpets. (Tip: Spend a few hundred dollars on a once-a-year upholstery cleaning. Works really well, and it's worth it.) You have to make sure that their barking is under control to avoid noise complaints.

Or, when your cat is constantly scratching at your bedroom door to be let in at night and now you have a big bald spot where your floor and the corner of your door meet. (It's really attractive to a potential home buyer.) Sometimes they all wake you up in the middle of the night because they need to "go", or at 5:30am because you have set a routine and it's getting close to breakfast time.

They drive me nuts sometimes and that stress may have helped me get a few grey hairs, but I can't live without them. They make me laugh more than they make me mad. Their personalities are all different. The boys fight with each other all the time, taking each other's toys and things. The cat rinses her food before eating it. (She takes one kibble at a time and dips it into her water, then eats it.) She also drinks by scooping up the water with her paws. She barely ever drinks with her mouth, unless she's drinking out of the toilet. One of my dogs likes to play with the laser pointer. (Everyone has a hoot with that!) All of them are unique in their own way.

As a whole, they have taught me responsibility, the importance of respect and companionship, and loyalty. They are like my kids, and have prepared me for becoming a real parent. They are my family and they keep my house alive. I know that they love me unconditionally and as long as I give them what they need, they will do the same for me. Even though having pets can have a combination of creating stress and relieving it. I find that mine relieve stress more than create it.

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