Cats, Dogs, and Snakes! Oh My!

I have started to do this article a few times, but then stopped. I was not sure if I wanted to write an article on a funny story about my pets and their craziness or if I just wanted to do an introduction type story. I worry about doing a funny story, because some of the things that happen are direct results of not having our biggest dog trained just yet, and he happens to be one of those breeds that has the potential to be dangerous. He also is one of those breeds that has the potential to be a hero!

So I have decided to just write an intro to our babies (fur and otherwise). The oldest member of our home now is Brewster. He turns 3 in human years within the next few days. My daughter loves the movie “Legally Blonde” even if she is not the biggest fan of pink anymore. She wanted a name similar to the star of the show of that movie (and I do not mean Reese). He’s a miniature deer head chihuahua. My son goes around singing the “I’m a chi chi chi chihuahua” song when she constantly chooses to pick him up and carry him around. He truly does not think that he is a dog. He is a permanent baby who must be carried and protected at all costs. I affectionately refer to him as “purse dog”, as he would be the perfect baby to put in your purse and sneak into anywhere. Other nicknames include Brewster-Brew and Little Bit at times.

Next oldest pet in our home would be Freddie the ball python. I hate snakes. Therefore, imagine my horror when my husband first introduced this idea of bringing this sort of reptile into not only my home, but in my bedroom to live. I clearly told him I would see him in divorce court first.

Well, here’s Freddie, seen below. (And no, there have been no papers drawn up, though I was very tempted at first.) Of our pets he is truly the easiest one to tend to, or maybe I just say this as the final agreement for the snake coming into our home was that I would not have to do anything for him. I have since gotten over my fear over bringing home live mice for him to eat… or else it’s just because I have finally found a container most times to have them put in and I have expressly told the Pet Warehouse staff to NOT ask me to pick which ones are doomed to death that day.

He is one of those pets that I do not share a lot of pictures of on social media, because I have had family members expressly ask me personally to not do so. The image of a snake alone is too much, yet alone one wrapped around my husband or child or myself. He really is docile though. Anyone who knows about this species knows we basically got the aloe vera plant version of a snake. He’s even been bopped on the head (completely accidental close contact with the cat) and he did not do anything but draw back as if to say “how rude”. I know my snake people will say he was drawing back to attack. Yes, I know that was his instinct, but we removed the danger, and he went back to seeking heat from around the back of our neck and seeing if he could escape, until we put him safely back in his home where he went and balled up under his rock. Of all our pets, he probably wishes the most that we would just forget him, other than to change his bedding, water, and give him food. Otherwise, he’s content to be alone.

Next up, Olivia the Princess, I mean cat. Seriously I think most days she just tolerates us humans. She loves the chihuahua though, to the point of cleaning the baby like he’s her personal bestie or child. Every once in a great while she will rub up against one of us humans for loving, though that is mostly in the mornings when she is affectionately trying to remind us that it is past her breakfast time. I think she does like me kind of in general. When I sit on the couch in the living room, I have a spot that is known as my spot, (think Bing Bang Theory Sheldon). She likes the top of the couch immediately behind this spot, by my head. I thought maybe she just preferred that spot because she’s worked it down a little, into the perfect bed for her body. I then switched spots a couple of times to sit on the loveseat section of our sectional so that my son could cuddle. After us getting settled in, I looked behind me and she had found her spot behind my head again. So maybe there is at the very least an understanding between us.

Last, but certainly not the least, as he is the biggest family member, is the baby, Charlie. I say baby. He turns 1 years old in human years in the next few days. He is a German Shepherd, Belgian Malinios mix. He is all baby still, but when he stands up, he is every bit as big as me (all 5 foot 2 inches worth). He runs full force for everything in life, and still does not know his strength. He will put his giant paw down on the chihuahua or cat in affection, not realizing he is nearly killing them. He also loves to put at least one paw on whatever human he is showing love to at the time. Like he just has to touch us at least in that small way. It is summertime in North Carolina, so now that he has stopped dropping his ball on my keyboard, to tell me it’s fetch time, he is in the middle of the kitchen floor enjoying the coolness from the linoleum. He has a crate that we have trained him to be in when we have to leave for church or going somewhere short term as a family. We have a rule that if we are to be gone for less than an hour we can chance him out. If we are gone for more than that, his boredom and curiosity kicks in and he is safer in the crate. He does love his crate, even though we had to pull the dog beds out because bored in the crate led to eating the bed. He still has a blanket to curl up in, but now that it is warmer, he usually just pushes those to the side so he can just be on the cool plastic part at the bottom, especially since his crate is near a vent that keeps it to his liking.

So the reason that I do not post a lot about my babies is not because I do not love them all, but more because I feel I need to protect them. I know I am not alone in having the crazy pet standards. I have seen videos of it in other peoples’ homes. I have seen the cute video that everyone comments crazy things to of someone else’s Belgian Malinois sticking their huge paw on the cat’s head, and thinking the dog is out to kill the cat, when in truth, it’s just them being a huge love bug that does not understand their strength. The video below just goes to show some of the bond they can have. My two are more tolerable than loving towards each other. Luckily no negative comments on this video below.

Do not get me wrong though. I have no doubt that minus the humans in this house, keeping order, that if we left all four pets for nature to figure out that in time, the cat would eat the snake, and the chihuahua and cat would try to team up against the Shepherd Malinois and they would all lose to the biggest, stronger member of the food chain. I do not foresee it as some great "Homeward Bound" adventure. As it stands now, they know we all have our favorites and love them all, and at least out of respect for us, if not each other, no one is trying to actively kill one another. We have a craziness that makes this home and works for us all. Is it perfect, no. Does each member of this family, fur and otherwise, know we care and love them, for the most part yes. The teenager doubts us most days, and the snake could care less, and the cat would ultimately turn us all over for a bowl of food, but for the most part, love reigns.

If you enjoyed this little intro to the fur (and not) family of our home, tips are always appreciated.