The loss not everyone will understand
I have been a dog person all my life. We have had Westies (West Highland White Terriers) as adopted family members ever since we discovered that this was the only type of dog my mother wasn't afraid of. For my bar mitzvah, my parents bought me a Westie after our Sherry died. I had Arri for 15 years and then had a 20 year hiatus of not having a dog. My wife never had a pet and was very much against getting a dog. On three different occasions, she agreed for me to get a Westie and then took back her agreement. A dog, unlike so many other types of pets has an incredible impact on the lives of everyone in a house - going away for the weekend or longer, walking it, feeding it, barking, sickness, etc - so bringing in a dog without her agreement would be a recipe for disaster. I learned that many years ago when my father did that. My mother left the house and, in no uncertain terms, told my father that it was either the dog or her. The dog went. My younger daughter loved all things t...