Two years ago, we took our kids to the theater to see “Finding Dory”, the story of an adorable, wide-eyed, blue tang fish (played by Ellen DeGeneres) who suffers from memory loss every 10 seconds or so. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can probably catch it on Netflix.

After the movie, we were motivated to go to Pet Smart and look at fish, which then led us to buying two Beta fish. A dazzling pink one that my daughter named, “Barbie” and a cool blue one that my son named “Spidey-Splash”.

These two, beautiful Betas became our first family pets and my kids loved watching them swim in their tank on a daily basis.

Fast forward to about a week later. “Can we get a puppy?” My kids quickly learned that you can’t take fish for a walk and they longed for a puppy to play with, and be on the receiving end of sloppy kisses.

We were certainly not ready for a family dog and we were constantly harassed by the puppy question several times a month.

The following summer we were in Pet Smart again picking up some fish food for Barbie and Spidey-Splash. We took our usual lap around the store, checking out the puppies, kittens, fish, birds and reptiles. We
rounded the corner where a glass container filled with baby guinea pigs caught my eye. I thought, maybe a guinea pig would be a fun addition to our household. They’re more interactive than fish, but less consuming than a dog.

I summoned a Pet Smart associate to let us hold one of these little creatures. They were super soft and cute and on a whim, I made an executive decision that we’d bring him home and make him ours.

The kids named him “Hammy”. If you’re not aware, guinea pigs are pretty low maintenance. They require hay, water, guinea pig food and some vegetables. Hammy’s favorite veggie is carrots, but he’ll also eat things like spinach or kale. Guinea pigs are vitamin C deficient, so you need to make sure they get some C in their diet.

They’re very social animals, so it’s recommended that you always have more than one guinea pig. But I was not going there. The kids keep Hammy social enough. We all enjoy watching Hammy’s crazy antics of running around his cage – he loves his, which I found on Amazon and it matches my house which is a plus in my book!

Guinea pigs poop a lot. Like a lot. So if you’re thinking of getting one, just remember that you’re going to need to stay on top of cleaning the cage. Other than the fact that Hammy looks like a bat, a rat and a skunk had a baby, we really do enjoy having him as part of our family.

What question do you think my kids had for me a just a few short weeks after welcoming Hammy into our home?

“Mommy, can we get a puppy?”

Ugggh. Honestly, I blame my neighborhood. My kids encounter adorable dogs on walks with their owners on a daily basis. They flaunt the cuteness right by my house. My kids melt every time and I get stuck feeling like the bad mom who won’t let her kids get a dog that they really, really want.

Then, last fall we lost Barbie. She was floating at the top of the tank and we had to explain to the kids that their pet had passed away. They cried and were sad. We took Barbie to a nearby canal where we had a small ceremony to bid her goodbye. It was very sweet and luckily we still had our Spidey-Splash to maintain our family fish love.

Sometime after, I stumbled upon a piece of scrap paper with my daughter’s handwriting stating: “I wish I have a puppy real live”.  My kids really wanted a dog. I really wanted a dog. I love dogs. I just didn’t want to deal with a dog right then.
It was clear, a family dog was inevitable. We planned on getting a dog when the kids were a bit older, but my husband and I started feeling like maybe it was the right time. I looked on our local dog rescue website and saw a pup that I instantly fell in love with. It reminded me of my childhood dog and I called right away. The puppy was available and I went there to meet her. Except when I got there, they said this specific puppy was very sick and was already adopted. WHAT?!

Oh man, was this a sign that we weren’t ready to bring a dog home? Was this an impulsive mistake?

The rescue worker went on to say, that “the puppy I was interested in was sick and already taken, but her brother from the same litter was available, would I like to meet him?” I said, “sure”. They brought this very timid, very scared little puppy to me. He sat on my lap and it was over. I had to have him.

Meeting Max at the rescue shelter for the first time.

We kept it a secret from the kids and brought this adorable little guy home at 10 weeks old to meet his new family. We don’t know much about his history other than he came from Tennessee and he appears to be a lab/border collie mix.

His name? Maximus. My hubs and I love the movie “Gladiator” and we decided to name him after Russel Crowe’s character. Maximus and Hammy are very affectionate toward each other. They share kisses and Hammy likes to try and climb on Max’s head from his cage.

Max and Hammy getting to know each other.

I like to think we lucked out and got an amazing dog. But I think he’s just the perfect fit for our family. This weekend, Spidey-Splash passed away. He’d been acting a little strange and I found him lifeless in his tank. We brought him to the canal and released him to be with his sister, Barbie.
I’m very happy with our family of pets and love that they’ve brought and will continue to bring so many funny and beautiful memories in our home. Yes, it’s a bit of work and some days I wish I could do without, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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