A Pet by Any Other Name

It was a long winter.

Like so many others, I had to deal with horrible weather, work layoffs, family and friends surgery and life changing events. Throw the holidays in there and gaining those 8 pounds I’d managed to lose and you have a recipe for stress.

Sometimes the effects of that stress sneak up on you and you find yourself working through the after effects. Lots of ways to do that….exercise, chocolate, meditation, chocolate, essential oils and massages….

Chocolate.

It set me to thinking about a lot of ways to deal with this level of stress and then I looked out the window. My neighbors had a new puppy.

Hmmm. A puppy. Well, the experts say a pet can help relieve stress. I like petting my brother’s cat Citrus. I enjoy my friends dogs Buckarudi, Pooka and Brody.

There would be challenges. Among them that I’ve never had a dog. I don’t have a fence. I do NOT enjoy getting up early in the morning to let said dog out. Howling makes me anxious and barking makes me jump. And if I ever found a flea or tick I’d faint.

Ok, so a cat. Well…that presents challenges too. No good out of the way place for a litter box. Cat hair clashes with my new recliner and I know…just KNOW that while I worked 12 hours Fluffy would be on my kitchen counter making tuna sandwiches. Don’t get me started on hairballs.

Fish? Been there, done that, slopped the water on the carpet.

Hamster? Squeaky wheel.

What to do, what to do?

So I talked over my thoughts with Buck’s Mom. I could hear her laughing. “A stuffed animal or a pet rock. Those are the ones that would work for you.”

“No,” I protested. “I could adjust.”

She snickered.

“I could make pets of all the birds I like listening to in the morning,” I protested.

“Really?” she said.

“Yeah,” (scuffs toe in carpet) “I just have to come up with 25 robin names.”

Sigh.

So I guess I have to take her suggestion. Pet rock it is. And I have experience! I had one in high school. This picture shows a pedigree pet rock. Mine was a stray :-)

Tell me about your pets. Any suggestions for me? Have you ever had a pet rock? What was its name?