I have said it before and I’ll say it again- 98% of the time having a pet is a wonderful experience, but that other 2% of the time will rip your heart out and stomp on it. It’s the circle of life.
A couple months ago we lost our sweet kitty Pumpkin at the age of 16. We knew it was time, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. Since then quite a few other people I know have had to put down beloved pets too. Thankfully, most of these other pets had also lived long lives full of love. But again, that doesn’t make it any less awful for these families.
There are people who go through losing a beloved pet once and then decide they don’t want a pet ever again. But they are in the minority. Most of us chose go through this circle of life over and over again. We make the decision to open our hearts and homes to a series of fur babies over the course of our lives. Are we crazy for wanting to go through that 2% of time over and over again?
Of course not. We know how much joy they bring to us the rest of the time. We crave those head butts and cuddles and the love that comes with having companion animals in our lives. If you are one of those “one and done” people I really encourage you to give it another go. Open your heart again and get all the health and intangible benefits that come with the 98% of having a pet.