Critters

My husband Jerry was a critter person. He always had pets. He was the kind of little boy who came home with a snake or a lizard in his pocket. I remember thinking about this before we had children. I had a deep foreboding (if you have read the Amelia Peabody Emerson books you'll get that reference!) that our children would be critter kids too.

I was right.

I don't think there is a critter alive they wouldn't like to make a pet of. And my grandchild is most definitely the same.

Don't get me wrong--I like animals. I just don't feel the need to live with them. Which is a good thing since I am allergic in some degree to pretty much all animals. I like short visits with my daughter's family's many pets. I get a kick out of watching animal antics. I recognize their varying personalities. I like to watch nature programs on TV and find the animals fascinating.

Sometimes I even think I'd like to have a nice cat or a smallish dog for a companion. Because of my critter-oriented family, we always had pets in the house.



Here are the pets best suited to me!

However. . .I remember all the vet visits, the daily doctoring of multiple animals for their allergies and other ailments, the cleaning up of the inevitable "accidents" that sick pets, like sick kids, have. I think about how I hate living with a cat box and how I really have no place in my house to keep one. I gag at the thought of cleaning up the daily dog poo donations to the yard or wherever a dog is walked. And then there is the expense of vets, grooming, medicine, and food for the pets.

And I decide that I am happy to visit and enjoy other people's critters, but I am better off without my own!

Please, all my critter-loving family, friends, and relatives, don't scorn me for this!