We’ve had several pets over the years, and each one has been so very special. I can’t imagine our home without pets. I think they bring a warmth and playfulness to your home and your family gains so much in just having them around. I believe when a child grows up with pets, they will have a life-long love and affection for animals. well maybe not every kind, but they understand there’s something special about them. Here are all of our furry babies in order of how we acquired them from the newest to the very first in a span of over 25 years:

Minksi

I wrote all about Minksi in my first post. At that time, we weren’t sure if she would actually stick around or run away as she would not be capable of being an indoor cat or live in the house at all. But now she has her own little routine, and she stays out all day until we get home from work. The garage door opens and she’s in and out of it as she pleases while Daddy tinkers around in the garage. The garage has become her sanctuary. She’s all black but there is something very regal and poised about the way she moves and interacts with everyone. If she were a person, she would be mysterious, quiet with a feisty side, and completely elegant. I’m now so happy she chose us and our home to have her kittens. I think she knows we loved and cared for her and her kittens and she’s loyal to us now.

Skye

We got Skye at the persistence of our daughter. Before we got her, had then only raised American Staffordshire Terriers (or pit bulls) except for our great dane / pit bull mix. My daughter became obsessed with looking at pics of great dane puppies. I really was actually very opposed to the idea because in my eyes, our house was just too small for this monstrosity of a dog. But my hubby, the dog lover he is, was slowly getting on board and in June of 2021, we surprised my daughter with Skye. I immediately saw how great dane puppy cuteness rivals pit bull cuteness like no other. She was simply adorable and so completely loving. She’s so much fun and spooks so easily. My nickname for her is Oofer-Doofer because she’s just a big oof. And if she were a person, she’d be the most caring best friend while at the same time super nosy and always up in your business. It could get quite annoying sometimes. She’s a good dog who obeys better than any of the others EXCEPT when it comes to food out on any counter or table. Because of her size she can reach it all and she can break open sealed jars and packages with no problem. She can get me pretty mad. But her sole purpose is to get as much love and affection from us as we can possibly give her.

Rainbow

Rainbow has a great story and hers alone is worthy of its own post, but I’m not going to do that. We acquired Rainbow in a very special way that I’m sure will NEVER happen again. There are so many cool details to tell, but I’ll try to keep it short. She was left at our doorstep with a letter personally addressed to us, a picture of her mother and father and copies of their AKC purebred certifications, an expensive bag of dog food, toys, treats, and $100 cash for her shots. This was all anonymous too. The letter said they knew we had recently lost a puppy to cancer, and they wanted to bless us with a new puppy to ease the loss. It was unreal and she was perfect. I named her Rainbow in honor of the Rainbow Bridge poem. She’s our biggest cuddler and lets us do anything to her. We can kiss her and squeeze her and roll her around. She’s definitely the sleepiest and laziest dog we’ve ever had. If she were a person, she would be that person who doesn’t care what anybody thinks. She wouldn’t be afraid to break rules and she would do whatever she wants. She’s fearless and nothing fazes her. She’d be that person that is just so cool without even trying. I have to tell the truth. Right now, she is my favorite dog. I hope that doesn’t sound bad because I love Skye, but Rainbow is my heart.

Kaia

Kaia unfortunately only lived to be 13 months. We got her as a baby. At about 9 months old, she stopped using her left hind leg and wouldn’t put any weight on it. Even on three legs, she was spunky and could still jump on and off the couch all day long. When we took her to the vet, we were told that it was her knee and that she needed surgery on it. But we got a call the day she was in for it and were told they had seen something and would not be going through with it. Then came a bunch of tests and medications to try to figure out what was going on. At first, they thought it was some kind of rare fungus she contracted from our back yard but could not explain why the other dog didn’t get it. It was a grueling and painful process to see her be less and less herself as months went by. She lost weight, her spunk and her ability to get around. And we were spending so much money. It was hard. So, finally at almost a year old, the vets recommended amputation to prevent whatever it was from spreading and to stop the pain because it was evident she was in alot of it. So, we had it done and almost immediately she began returning the Kaia we knew. Her appetite was back; she began to move much faster on 3 legs than she did with the sick leg. She wanted to play again, and we were over the moon for her. We thought we were just going to have a cute 3-legged dog and then something horrible happened. I remember it was Christmas Eve and that morning I just knew there was something very wrong with her. She ended up throwing up all of this yellow foam that afternoon and I just couldn’t shake the feeling that this meant something very wrong. We got an emergency appointment for her because of all of her history and they ended up taking some X-rays. It showed something that had previously been contained to the leg now all over her body. It was in all of her organs and around her heart and was diagnosed as a very rare aggressive cancer. What kind, they weren’t sure. They said they could refer us to a vet in San Diego or Phoenix but there was nothing more they could do for her. I don’t know about now, but at the time, no Yuma vets could treat cancer. As much as we wanted to help her, we could not afford all of this, especially after spending thousands on tests, medications and amputation. We had to come to grips that she was going to die. They asked if we wanted to euthanize her then and there but we couldn’t! We needed to have time to process this and love on her and for all of us to be there to say our goodbyes. Our kids needed to know and see her and be there for her in the end. so, we took her home and just made her as comfortable as possible. She couldn’t eat much but still managed the strength to go outside when she had to relieve herself. Other than that, she almost didn’t leave her little dog bed. At night she slept in the middle of my husband and I and as nights went by, her breathing became more and more labored until the day came that we knew we had to end her suffering. That was about 2 weeks after that Christmas Eve appointment. It was the absolute hardest pet death I have experienced so far. I mourned her as if she were an actual person. If she were human, she would have been playful, athletic, full of energy and always wanted to be in close proximity to her friends. Cancer is extremely rare in dogs her age and I think I took it so hard we didn’t get enough time to see her grow. She was just a baby. We took her passing hard as a family, but we were given Rainbow less than a week after it. This is why Rainbow is named Rainbow. After the Rainbow Bridge with Kaia in mind.

Talia

Talia has been our only rescue dog. One very hot summer day in 2012, my husband was working in one of our farmland neighborhoods. In the distance, he spotted some type of animal seeking shade under a John Deere tractor. As he walked over to it to get a better look, this emaciated but sweet dog came right up to him. He knew right away she desperately needed care and as he had with others, he brought her home to pick all the ticks from her, give her a good bath and a meal. But this time, it was different. This time, he wanted to keep the dog. We had Neko already and up to that point, we had never had two dogs at one time, so I was automatically not on board, stating we didn’t have room and that we weren’t prepared financially for another dog. But we kept her and somehow managed all the costs. And there were many. We didn’t know it at the time, but she had horrible allergies. She was constantly breaking out and getting skin infections, even under a vet’s care and management. The meds would only help for so long and then we’d have to take her back to try something new. It was honestly never ending. But she was a really good and humble dog. She protected us too. If she were a human, she would be a quiet and humble person, never taking those in her life for granted. She eventually got a skin tumor on her chest that was cancerous. This was after everything we went through with Kaia, and we just couldn’t do anything for her but to keep her as comfortable as possible. She’s been our first and only dog to die naturally at home. She and my daughter had a special bond.

Neko

We were renting a 2-story condo at the time and our landlady was very firm that she didn’t want to rent to pet owners. Breaking that rule and getting a pet was the furthest thing from my mind when my husband started talking about this adorable little pit bull puppy he would see when he dropped off his coworker every afternoon. His coworker’s neighbor’s dog had just had puppies but were not quite ready to be sold. He had mated her with another pit bull, both solid brown and both AKC purebred certified, so these puppies were gorgeous, according to my husband. He said the runt of the litter was the only one who would come up to him every time he was there. I would remind him we couldn’t have pets and we would just say “I know”. Well one Friday as he came in, he snuck her in and as I was sitting on the couch, the most adorable chocolate brown pit bull puppy came right up to me and I instantly fell in love with her. I couldn’t help it. She was so soft and shiny and had all that extra skin and a cute droopy snout and I could just eat her all up. She was our baby and got the best quality of everything. When the kids came along, she was super sweet with them and not once did I ever feel like my human babies were in any danger. We trained her from the day we brought our son home. We never kept her from him but stayed close and never left them alone and had a watchful eye on her. We trained her to not lick him in the face. That’s all we required. As years went on, it was apparent she would not be a threat and she never once bit a person. She got into a few dog fights though. She was definitely an alpha female for sure and if she were a human, she would definitely be an introverted homebody. She likes things quiet and predictable and when she had had enough of your affection, she would just get up and leave you. So different from Rainbow in that way. She was extremely smart and aware of her surroundings too so no stepping on my feet like Skye does all the time. She was the healthiest of all of our dogs by far too. She had zero issues until she was way older, and she couldn’t hold her urine anymore, and we had to get her diapers. Getting old was literally her only health issue. I really took that for granted too. When the time came that we knew it was time to let her go, it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I swear I made that appt. with the vet about ten times before we kept the appt. Each time, I would tell myself it had to be done, but when the day came, I just couldn’t take her. I would tell my husband I’m not ready to let he go yet, and he understood because he wasn’t ready either. We did it purely out of respect for her suffering and dignity. At that point, she was only existing and couldn’t move much, spending hours in the exact same position. She did walk into the vet’s office herself after having a few cheeseburgers though. And my father-in-law, may he rest in peace, even drove to the vet’s office unexpectedly to say his goodbyes to her. Honestly, to know her was to love her.

As I said, I just can’t imagine my home without at least one pet. I imagine as we get older, the dog breeds might have to get smaller, but I hope that doesn’t happen. I love a dog big enough to squeeze and pit bulls are perfect for that.

THE END!