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animals / Family

My Dogs Never, Ever Tell me This

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Two small dogs walk with their tongues hanging out in wildflowers and natural grasses. They are looking happy!
We don’t like to be left behind!

I’ve not been an empty nester for very long. After raising four children and lovingly sent them into the world to make their way and have their own grand adventures, it was a bit scary. Time alone with my husband is now possible. A little voice whispers, “free at last, free at last.” I miss the kiddos, but they are all close by, and it’s nice to see who they become as adults on their own.

Cat in truck
I like to travel, too!

My kids think I’m a bit over-the-top because I make my dogs, and now cats, homemade food. I give the dogs bully sticks when they are anxious or if there is too much snow to enjoy the outside. Even the cats get treats. My husband and I got a 5th wheel so that we can travel with our cats and dogs instead of leaving them at home; we camp together and love it! The kids think I’m way too crazy over my dogs.

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I love to go camping!

Here’s what they don’t understand. When I come home from work, the dogs and cats are excited and happy to see me, very unlike a sullen teenager. When I come home after an intense, draining day at work to face a long list of cooking, cleaning, and chores that must be done, my dogs never, ever have greeted me at the door with the news that I must bake three dozen cupcakes for them to take to school in the morning. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier!”

dogs
We would never ask you to bake us cupcakes when you’re tired. We just want to snuggle and make it all better.

Of course, the dogs get special attention!

dogs and cat
My dogs and cats get along with each other better than squabbling human children. Here they are on our camper bed, peaceful.

39 comments

  2. I remain too ignorant in regard to how US supports people. In the city regions I do believe that you are better serviced. Remote (Tasmania is considered remote even the capital city Hobart) plus I live ruraly. Yet I have been fairly fortunate compared to many others.

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  3. You have great family your kids are close and you have your furrfamily. My guys are with me 24/7 except if it is to hot to take them out in the car, and for them on the footpaths. They are asleep up on my bed (our bed) but the minute I go up they will be awake and ready to have a pat and a night kiss.

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      1. I totally understand. My dogs are my umm security if they cant be fairly close I tend to not go to places. If they can not be asleep in the car, where they would rather be. Umm service dogs they help with my anxiety and triggers.

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        1. I can’t bring my dogs to work, but I work at home 2 days per week, and my pups, cats, and birds hang out with me then. It’s the best I can do right now. I don’t have anxiety without them, it’s just that life isn’t as good. You are lucky to have your dogs to help you, I know some people with anxiety that need dogs like you, but they don’t have them and tend to stay inside all the time. 😦

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  4. Your place looks like heaven. So many animals! Maybe I should rethinking living in a city. Ha. Someone once told me I need to live on a ranch because of my love of animals. But I don’t wanna learn to drive and I love theater. So I said I need to win the lotto, buy a big townhouse and I’ll have room for many furry friends.

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  8. The fur babies can be so lovely compared to the two legged kind. How do the cats go when travelling? I take my pooch but have always been afraid to take the cats, they get a pet sitter. They all look so lovely.

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    1. The cats ride in our extended cab pickup with us and the dogs. No carrier. We set up a little shelter in the back seat window so they can sit above the dogs and see out the window. They like it. Sometimes they sleep in our laps. One cat used to sleep on top of the dashboard. They do what they want, just like if we were home!

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    1. I sure try! The difference in parenting them is quite different and yet the same. Love is love, and we do what we need to in order to make our loved ones happy.

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  12. Your pups and kitty are so lucky to be able to go on adventures with you. Maybe the children are a bit jealous that they can’t go on adventures with you any more because they have their own lives to live? Our pawrents never had kids so we can only imagine how different it is to raise a kid over a pet.

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    1. Each parenting path goes to the place we need to go. And the kids might wish they could go camping too; we did that a lot when they were young – in a much simpler camper. The important thing is that we love each stage of life, finding the good bits in each one!

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  13. Mew mew mew Miss Karel efurryone iss so cat-tented an peecefull an happy! An you know yore THE sweetest cat an doggie Meowmy an there iss nothin wrong with that…..
    An takin efurryone campin soundss furabuluss.
    LadyMew laffed ’bout THE doggiess an cat are happy to see you come home an not askin fore cookiess, mew mew mew….iss so true rite? 😉
    ***purrsss*** BellaDharma

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  15. I skipped the kid part and went directly to cats. No regrets. I had a high intensity job and cat drama is a lot less than people drama. Can’t imagine camping with a cat. I’d be terrified that she’d go off on an adventure and I couldn’t find her.

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    1. Skipping children is certainly the way to have a better retirement, according to my retirement planner. Ugh! Too late, now. Still, I respect your choice. My kids were wonderful teachers and some of those lessons were hard! The early years with Nami were difficult, as she seemed to want to go feral on our trips. Now, she stays in the camper and truck and it’s all good. We take her for walks on a leash, and she’s cooperative. We tried leaving her home with the parrots when we first got our camper, but she cussed at us when we got home. We got the message, and take her now! She likes it!

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  16. Aren’t animals the best! That is why some of us decided not to have children, and just have pets instead. LOL

    Also, I think you are just the right amount of crazy over your pets. I do all the same things as you, though we don’t camp anymore. We had chosen to camp in the past, over visiting places and staying in a motel, precisely because we wanted to take our dogs with us. I do miss those days sometimes, but we really enjoy staying home on our little farm too.

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    1. Thanks, Jan. If we lived on a farm, we wouldn’t go camping, either. We live in the suburbs and I work in the city. I love to get away from all the people. Nature heals, and sometimes I really need that. What’s a farm? Nature 24/7. Lucky you!

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  17. Love this. You make an excellent point about how NOT sullen your dogs and cats are. No wonder you look forward to spending time with them. Also, cute, cute, cute. Never underestimate the power of cute when it comes to charming a human being, such as yourself.

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    1. Yeah, those teen years for my kids were difficult. Dogs and cats – never! The parrots are somewhere in between. I love my kids, but it was not a cakewalk, especially those single-mom years.

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