15. the new addition to our family

About a year ago, when moving was just a twinkle in our eyes as we looked forward to retirement, we decided it was finally time to get a dog. Husband has been wanting a dog for years, but we had a small house with two cats already, plus we are super busy, so it didn't make sense to add a dog to our crowded lives.  In the winter/spring of 2016, however, we were shocked with the sudden and unexpected deaths of both of our beloved cats within 24 hours of each other. It was devastating. We decided we would institute a year of mourning before we welcomed any new pet into our lives.

We both grieved for a few months straight. But by the end of summer, Husband was ready to at least start thinking about our next pet. Always a cat tolerator and never a cat lover, he took our cats deaths as a sign that it was time to get a dog. But I just couldn't envision a future without a cat, so we decided to "compromise" and get one cat and one dog. His and hers pets, if you will.

We did much research and debating about the order of adoption, given that Husband very much wanted a purebed puppy and I very much wanted a humane society cat that was about a year old (young but not too young). We decided to get on the waitlist for a puppy away, and Husband did a bunch of research and decided to go with Welcome Home Labs in northern MN, with the hopes of welcoming a puppy as close to the end of the school year as possible.  (We visited them later in the fall, and even I, ardent cat lover that I am, left a little bit excited about getting a new puppy in the spring. They are great, if anyone else out there is thinking of adopting!)

The time passed, and we crossed off all the major holidays without our beloved cats: their birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. By early January I finally felt emotionally ready for a new cat. I started visiting the humane society, and keeping my eyes peeled for anyone who was looking to re-home a cat. On Martin Luther King Day (2017), we welcomed home our Cat. He quickly became king of the household, but also clearly needed a companion to play with (other than an unwilling one like me or Kid). We counted down until Dog could join our family.

And finally he did!

8 weeks

introductions

10 weeks

play time!

13 weeks (look as the size of those paws!)

I'm not sure I would necessary recommend getting an 8-week-old puppy the week before putting one's house on the market, but in retrospect (a month or so later), it had a couple unexpected up sides. (Like the fact that most of our stuff was packed away, which gave Dog a lot fewer things to chew on or to pee on. And most of Husband's hobby equipment was packed away, which made him have to focus all his attention on Dog.) But it definitely still added stress to an already stressful situation!

Despite the stress, Cat and Dog have been a delight to have around. And we think they are both going to LOVE Montana - Cat can become an outdoor cat (in the country) and Dog will have a lot more freedom as well. Unfortunately Husband is already starting to say things like "when we get a second dog..." (WHAT?!?!) We'll see!