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PETS ARE A GIFT FROM HEAVEN

Recently, many of my friends have lost their pets. The photos of them and their little friends and the stories they have shared really touch my heart. I myself, have lost pets in past and I have experienced the deep sense of loss and sadness that comes with losing a precious gift from heaven. Always, after I have a pet die I swear I wont allow myself to go through that kinda pain again, then I promise myself not to ever own another pet but, some how I can't help myself and next thing you know I have a new buddy. So, I never thought in a million years that I would have two cats, two dogs, and two horses, a rabbit, a fish and two Alligator lizards. I guess that's what happens when you have children in the house. They all want a pet.
My first pets, before I had my children, were a kitten named Miss B's (we rescued from an abusive person) and another special kitty named Pantone who was found in the woods. We spent hours picking deer ticks off this precious little kitten and she didn't complain not once. We adored those cats and when they passed away we were devastated. I almost forgot about our Florida soft shell turtle named Cooter that my wife rescued from a stray cat. He was amazing, I would catch minnows and hand feed him. Cute as a button for sure. I let him go back into the wild where he belonged when he was ready. I don't think my wife has forgiven for that yet, she loved that little guy. Well, after we lost our two cats we didn't even consider getting another pet until years later we decided to get our daughter Sable a new kitten. We adopted a black and white kitten that resembled our cat Miss B's. My wife Jodi came up with name Echo as a homage to our Miss B's. Shortly after we brought this little kitten home it got very sick. We brought it to a veterinarian to see what we could do to save this little guy. He said," They never should have sold you this kitten, it is very sickly and it's probably going to die. You should take it back and get your money back." My wife said, "We can't, our daughter is in love with it, what can we do to save him?" Well, after sleepless nights and a whole lot of attention, Echo lived and still lives. He is definitely Sable's cats and has brought her a lot of joy and comfort to her life over the years. He's very old now and coming to the end of his life and I am not looking forward to the heart break my daughter is going to go through when he passes. Tig, the other cat in the house, is on loan from a friend who is serving our country over seas. My youngest daughter adores him and he has quickly become part of the household. He has the ability to go to the bathroom in the toilet, unfortunately, he doesn't flush.
Our two dogs are Toby and Indigo. Toby is the epitome of a dog that I have been drawing my entire life and somehow my wife found him. He is a terrier mix and is more of a little man than a dog. I love him dearly, my wife says that I love him more than her. She wins, but not by much. Every time I look into his big brown eyes my heart melts. It's a good thing because he prefers going to the bathroom in the house verses the yard. Our other dog Indigo, is 100% dog. She is a pure breed Blue Healer. She was originally adopted for our youngest daughter but she gravitated to my oldest daughter. Sable takes her to the ranch where she works. She's a good ranch dog she stays next to Sable's side just waiting for a command. When Sable takes her horse out for a trail ride she takes Indigo with her and sometimes she comes back with an exhausted dog ride on her horse with her. She will chase a ball for as long as you are willing to throw it and shows her love with big kisses and little nips. Our horses are Bullet and Bliss. We had three horses at one point, the third was Esperanza a black and white paint. She was a handful for sure. We rescued her, she was in terrible shape but after a lot of love and a ton of care she turned out to be a wonderful horse. She was getting injured to often as my daughter was using her for barrel racing so we decide to find her a new owner that would take care of her the way we did, lot's of love and attention and no more races for her. We found her a wonderful new home. Bullet is a grey quarter horse, originally purchased for me. We got him when he was just 2 years old and have trained him from the ground up. He is like a giant puppy. He is over sixteen hands now, he was never supposed to get that big. He was my buddy, and a great trail horse. I stop riding about the same time we sold Esperanza. Sable need a new barrel horse and so she adopted him as her new barrel horse. They bonded and are thick as thieves now. His mane and tail are braided now and his tack is a little more sparkly and shiny but I don't think he minds to much. Our other horse is Bliss, she's an older horse, she is a speckled Arabian. She and Bullet get along like brother and sister. She loves to compete. We got her for Eden, my middle daughter. When they ride together, it's just so wonderful to watch them flow through the poles in sink with each other, the way they sway back and forth with each other it's as though they are one.
The rabbit is another rescue, of course. It's name is Sushi, it's a lion mane, and it is down right adorable. He is a new addition to the house as is the fish, Kettle and the lizards Riddick and The Jackle . My daughters just love to watch them, the fish in his sparkly lit tank and the lizards, in their terrarium.
Well that's all our pets. They are always there to greet us with exuberance and enthusiasm whether we've been gone for five minutes or five days when we get home. They comfort us when we need it and make us laugh. The endless love and joy we get from our animals is surely a gift from heaven.