Playing Favorites

This is one of those hard things to admit- when it comes to our pets, we have favorites. It doesn’t seem fair, I know, but from time to time, we have favorites. And the worst part is, they can change!

You notice it most when you’ve recently gotten a new pet. I was talking to a friend today about her Aussie. She mentioned that she was glad they got her, but maybe it was a little too soon after they’d lost their other dog, because in the beginning, she would look at her and think “You’re sweet, but you’re not my boy.”

I understood completely. About a month after we got Smokey, he and Moree escaped. They had some sort of epic adventure. About 8 hours or so after they ran off, Smokey returned home. We were glad to see him, but at the time couldn’t help but think, if only one of the dogs were going to come back, why couldn’t it have been Moree (who we’d had for 3 years, vs 1 month for Smokey).

Now, I love June, and today I might not trade her in to have Moree back, but certainly in the beginning I would have.

And really, there’s nothing wrong with any of this. Depending on when a pet comes in to your life, what they go through with you, sometimes you have to admit one was just that much more special. It doesn’t mean you don’t love your other pets, or make you a bad pet parent. It makes you human, which is, after all, why they love you.