Fleeting

I had children before my son and daughter were born. We raised them from babies and even though they had 4 legs instead of 2, they were still very much ours.

My husband discovered Kato when she was just a few weeks old. He opened the front door and there was this tiny little adorable and scrappy puppy. She looked up at him with her now-patented look, walked right past him up the stairs and jumped onto his bed.

And that was that.

My husband and I got together a few years later. I had always wanted a dog and was thrilled that Kato was in my life. I spoiled her rotten. She was my true love. My husband was hers. She used to bark whenever we kissed.

One day we were looking after my sister-in-law’s Lhaso Apso and I remember thinking that walking 2 dogs was a real bitch. Cassie was an ankle-biter, and it was such a pain in the ass keeping her in line while keeping an eye on Kato. I vowed never to get a second dog.

THAT VERY DAY, I get to work and there’s a sign on set that read, “Puppies for Sale.” The post production coordinator’s sister’s dog had puppies and they were trying to get rid of them. She was bringing them by that night.

I called my husband (then boyfriend) and he came by with Kato. They brought in the puppies and I’ll never forget how that one little bugger wouldn’t take her eyes off of Kato.

She chased her around but she kept tripping on her leash. She stopped, picked the end of the leash up with her teeth, and proceeded to chase our dog.

We named her Trouble.

And in the 15 years it took the 2 of us to buy a house, get married, have 2 kids and find jobs, those 2 dogs have lived their entire lifetime.

Whenever someone comments on how gray Trouble’s black coat has become, I automatically respond, “It’s been like that since she was 2. She still acts like a puppy.”

But the other night, I realized she doesn’t. It seems like just yesterday she was psycho dog, running along the backs of the sofas and tearing through the yard.

Even after she quieted down, she still had the energy of a young pup. She always wanted to play. But now, she’s losing sensation in her back legs, she’s almost 100% deaf and she spends an awful lot of time just lying around.

Kato’s also getting on. She’s 3 years older than Trouble but she seemed to have hit a plateau a few years back. She’s certainly mellowed out but I haven’t seen any real downhill trends. But there’s no question. She’s old. Also deaf, she has a bitch of time with arthritis, the stairs and jumping up on the bed. Which she still insists on doing every single night.

They were our children, and now they’re clearly older than us. But we raised them and told stories about them and were proud of them and disappointed in them – all of the same things you go through with actual children.

But they’re not. And it really took me having children to realize that. As I suppose happens with most people. But when our children were born, they took to them as part of the family from Day 1.

Trouble was like a mother hen with the boy. She stood over his pack n play or lay by his crib when he slept. And whenever he cried, she would howl.

And Kato, once so filled with hatred for children, would lay patiently while the boy, and then the girl, pulled at her ears and tail, or accidentally grabbed a handful of fur.

But inevitably, those dogs took a back seat. They went from being the centre of our universe to being damn lucky to still have a roof over their heads.

While I was changing diapers, Kato was busy shitting all over the house. Every time it rained, I could count on Trouble to seek refuge in the tub, defecate and then run circles around the bathroom.

There were no more hour long petting sessions, birthdays celebrated with hamburgers (see the preceding paragraph) or long walks to the dog park. There was a lot of being let out in the yard instead of getting proper walks and being kicked out of the way when constantly underfoot.

Those dogs got a bum deal.

It’s gotten to the point where when my husband leaves town, we actually farm the dogs out to my sister-in-law because it’s too difficult to take care of them and the kids.

Too difficult.

We agreed to take care of those dogs as if they were our children. We raised them and they loved us unconditionally. After 16 and 13 years, they still jump up to greet us with wagging tails when we get home from work. Ironically, Kato no longer pees with excitement when one of us returns from a long trip, though.

They loved our children as part of the pack. They understood their place in the hierarchy. Well, Trouble did. Kato not so much. But Kato would stand guard in front of the girl’s bedroom door whenever I got in a mood.

They provided companionship and lessons in compassion for the kids. Through having dogs the boy and girl learned about responsibility, love and friendship. It is safe to say that those 2 beasts have profoundly changed our lives as a result of being around.

For the better.

And I just didn’t want to wait until one of them died before saying all of this. Because even though they will never actually read these words, they still need to be said.

Thanks, guys.