When my husband and I started dating he couldn't believe my dog and cat lived inside, let alone slept in my bed! Seriously, he didn't understand this concept. A year later I found myself sobbing on the phone because I didn't feel comfortable moving with him because of my animals. He shivered at the thought of allowing animals inside a house. How in the world would I bring my animals with us considering they were indoor animals?! If I wasn't allowed to bring my animals, I wasn't moving. Simple as that!
I won that battle.
(Tigger relaxing outside after we moved into our house)
A few months ago I went with a friend to the sketchiest house I've ever been to. The sketchiest part? My friend was getting a tattoo in this house. I went along because I was seriously worried about her going alone! The tattoo artist also ran a pet shop - inside her house.
The first thing I noticed when I walked in the door was this:
(she slept on my lap like this for hours while my friend got her tattoo)
I was sold. I sent my husband numerous pictures of her. I wanted to rescue her from this sketchy house. The lady's husband told me he was thinking about feeding her to his snake. I know he was joking, but seriously?! I told my husband that and he said, "you have to bring her home!!" So I did. She came home with a mild case of ear mites and fleas. I made her sleep outside in a kennel the first night because I didn't want my cat and dog to get fleas from her. I woke up bright and early and rushed her to the vet for blood work and so on. It took us weeks to name her, but we decided Mima was the best name for our new bundle of joy.
(Mima after a bath!)
The same man who shivered at the thought of animals living inside a house and thought animals as pets was the most ridiculous thing ever is now in love with all of our pets. He claims it's a Brazilian thing. Dogs are guards, cats hunt mice. According to him, animals live outside and never come inside the house. He's a changed man. I swear, the man is more concerned about the animals than me!! He cuddles up to Mima every night and sometimes says, "I can't believe you were almost snake food."
Mima is definitely my husband's cat. They don't spend much time together because he works a lot, but they were meant for each other. They even have the same attitude and temper! They are two peas in a pod.
It took me awhile to convince my rural Brazilian that having pets is a wonderful thing, but I got the job done!
Isn't she a cutie?!
Awww she's adorable! A lot of people here in Brazil hate cats, I love them and have one back home in the UK. My husband grew to love her too while we were in England hehe. When my husband and I lived in our previous place we had a dog which we adored but hubby would NEVER let him sleep inside the house, it was a battle to finally convince him to let the dog enter the house even during the day!
ReplyDeleteWhen we moved house we couldn't keep our dog as we moved to a rented house that shares the garden with the landlady, but he's at my sister-in-law's so at least we still get to see him. At the beginning of the year we took in a small dog that my other sister-in-law found in the street. My husband treats her like a princess! haha
It's funny how they change their minds after being exposed to them! All of my husband's Brazilian friends who come over cringe at my animals, but they do accept the fact considering I'm an American!
ReplyDeleteHaving animals inside the house was one of my biggest challenges after we got married. It still is a challenge! If he sees any hair around the house he has a meltdown.
It's so reassuring to know someone else has been in my shoes!!