As I was sitting here thinking about my topic for Thankful Thursday, I couldn’t help but think of my dogs.  Especially since my youngest little guy had knee surgery and just came back home today.  Being single can be very lonely.  Aside from human company (and I even question that at times), there is nothing like the unconditional love and companionship of a dog.  My dogs are my kids…flaws and all.  But, unlike kids they can’t be added to my medical plan.  This marked Aker’s second knee surgery this year.  At almost $3,000 per surgery my bank account has taken a beating.

Kinley

Kinley came into my life in 2009 and was a big bundle of joy.  And by “big” bundle, I literally mean HUGE.  He is one of the largest Shihzu I have ever known.  The average size of this breed is 16 pounds on the high end…Kinely weighs 25 pounds.  The irony is that I wanted a dog small enough to travel with me under the seat in an airplane.  Kinley did that once…when he was almost five months old…after that he was just too big.

It was the perfect time for me to get a dog.  I had some extra time in the evenings and life was uncomplicated.  We took several obedience classes including puppy, intermediate, advanced, and click-a-trick.  He actually learned to play with a skateboard in the last class.

He was the best behaved and well trained dog.  He never had potty accidents.  He could go 13+ hours (not that I liked it when he had too).  I honestly could not have hoped for a better dog.

And then I had a great idea…

Aker

I decided to get a second dog because I thought “It can’t be that much more work and I’m sure I’ll get another dog as perfect as Kinley.”  I got Aker in May of 2011.  The joke was definitely on me.

Don’t get me wrong I love Aker.  I probably love him as much as a mom loves her prankster child.  He is something else.  Our time together started out with him needing back to back hernia operations.  And, since then two knee surgeries.

Even after the expense, Aker has brightened my life in so many ways.  He makes me smile and/or laugh every single day.  He gets himself in the strangest predicaments.  For example, I came home one day and he was nowhere to be found.  I panicked and then as I was frantically searching, I see slight movement from the corner of my eye and there he was looking up at me from a Rubbermaid bucket that he had fallen into.  After snatching him up and giving him lots of love, I burst into laughter and wonder why I didn’t take a photo.  The next day when he attempted to scoot under a shelving unit and got his harness caught, I took a minute to take a photo before freeing him.  Seriously, if he was going to do something stupid funny two days in a row he deserved to sit there for a minute while I captured a photo of it for the memories.

Me

At this point in my life, I can’t see my life without these two little guys.  I know I will be faced with that eventually, but until then there will be a lot of love, snuggles, and laughter in our house.

Your Pet Stories

I’m a little biased when it comes to dogs, but I know others who feel the same way about their cats and other little critters.  What about you?  Do you have pets?  Do they add joy to your life?