All Dogs Go to Heaven

Gidget, enjoying her favorite pastime:  blindly staring into a fan.

Hi people.

Kris and I tend to see eye-to-eye on most things; kind of one of those things that happens when you end up getting hitched.  There are a few bullet points, however, over which we do butt heads - and one of the recent ones happens to be in regards to dog ownership.

The infamous Dreyfus: Chaos in Dog-form

Me?  I love me a dog.  Kris does, too. . . but is convinced we can't swing it at this point in time, what with our chaotic work schedules and disaster-prone children and all.  I have a tendency of throwing caution to the wind and pouncing on things impulsively, so maybe she has something of a point, here, but I have a hard time raising kids without a pet around.

And no, readers, fish are not pets.  They're home decor.  There's a difference.  Pets have character, and ideally can be handled by their human counterparts.  They also have fur.  Or feathers.

If you'll all be so good to remember, we did have ourselves a pet for a few years - a rebellious, little Quaker Parrot named Fezzig.  We got him from a pet store shortly after I returned from Africa, but were forced to get rid of him when Alayna was about a year old.  We had spoiled the guy for years with our easier workloads and kid-less home, but alas when we began more time-consuming careers and began pumping babies out, he had what you could call an 'avian nervous breakdown.'  Plucking feathers, snipping at us, screeching for no reason whatsoever.  In the end, we had to give the poor guy away to some crazy bird people (who picked him up in a car emblazoned with Quaker Parrot bumper stickers. . . so at least we know he went to a good home).

Taking that whole ordeal into consideration, it's safe to say that we're both pretty funned-out with the whole 'pet bird' thing.  At least for now.  Maybe when the kids are older and can share the responsibilities of taking care of a parrot - those things are pretty high-maintenance.

Dreyfus spent a lot of time in the kitchen. . .

With birds and fish out of the question, the conver-sation keeps coming back to dogs.  I grew up with dogs, as Kris did, and feel that they're a necessary component of the domestic biosphere.  I grew up with a series of beloved dogs since the day I was born.  Rufus, Dreyfus, Zack; all of them well-loved and - with the exception of the last one, which I believe has spent the last 16 years scampering about a farm up in Tawas, MI. - loyal pets that spent nearly 15 years with the family.

She can't hear ya, kid. . .

Since 1997, Gabe and Gidget have also been well-loved members of the Hough Family, but as the years have worn on, their age had caught up with them and their quality of life has taken a turn for the worse.

During the last three or four years, Gidget (a lopsa-lopsa. . . or however the hell you spell it) had lost an eye and the ability to see all-together, fancying herself blind strolls into walls and sitting for hours on end in front of an oscillating fan.

Leisure time.

Gabe (a golden retriever), who used to be the epitome of boundless energy, spent most of his time sleeping, as the simple task of getting to his feet was a considerable feat in itself.

The Dynamic Duo

Today at work I received a text message from my dad saying that the two were finally put down together.  Gabe could no longer stand on his own, was unable to control his bowels, and had stopped eating.  It was his time to go, and Dad and Cindy felt it was for the best to put down Gidget down alongside him, seeing how they had been companions for over 15 years.

Definitely not the best text message to receive while at work, attempting to teach the Peloponnesian Wars to a horde of bored middle schoolers.

My parents were jerks and consequently I never had this as a pet.

I'm sure Dad and Cindy will eventually get a new dog (or dogs).  After all, people need pets, and I can't think of any other animal out there - besides a dinosaur or a Falcor - that makes a better pet than a dog.

Gabe and Gidget, you will be missed.  Rest in Peace.

- Brian