What's Your Pet Personality?

I've never been a pet person. I didn't have many pets growing up. But I'm the mother of Ashley, the pet princess, who would have loved a pet of every kind if we'd only let her. So who was I to deny the way God made her? He put that love of animals deep in her heart. So we have had pets. Lots of them, but not too many at one time, thank you.

We've had three dogs over her lifetime. One was a stray that no one claimed, so we kept her. Oreo was a black and white English setter who came to live with us before Ashley did. She used that as ammunition when asking for a pet a few years later. "But Mom, Oreo isn't my dog. You had her before I was born!" 

After Oreo died at the ripe old age of fourteen, we started looking for another dog. Oreo had been an "outside" dog. We only let her in when the temps got too cold at night, and then she slunk around with a guilt complex for being indoors. 

This time, we decided to get a small dog that could be an "inside" dog. My husband surprised me one afternoon while he and Ashley were out running errands by calling to say they found a cute black chihuahua puppy for sale. We went back to get her the next day and Ashley named her Kisses. She really would have preferred a big dog, but I said only a small dog in the house as long as she lives with us.

Sadly, Kisses died only five years later due to a liver disease. Saddest day ever. We decided to wait a little while before getting another dog. Maybe we could even get by without one. But it wasn't long until we realized how lonely the house was without a tail-wagger to greet us. There was no jingle of dog tags following us around. We started looking for our next dog. 

Kobi

We found a family on Craig's List whose chihuahua had just had a litter of pups. We went to see them and fell in love with the white and tan spotted puppies. We visited a couple more times before they were old enough to leave their mom. Soon, Kobi became part of our family. He was the cutest dog ever, and still is, even at five years old. Everyone says so. He even has his own Facebook page. Just type in Kobi and you'll see a handsome picture of him in his sweater. 

We have a few rules regarding dogs around here. Only small dogs in the house. We don't feed them people food, (though my husband always wants to break this rule). They sleep in their crate at night (usually). They aren't allowed in our laps at the table. 

All these boundaries have much to do with our personalities. What about you? Do you have pets? What kinds? What boundaries do you draw with your pets? Can they get on the furniture? Can they eat people food? Drink from the toilet? Are they outside pets? How much do the kids take care of them? Let's talk pets!

Linda