Before I had my little brood of furballs running around the house, I remember a little something called sleeping in. When it was just Piper and I, she would sleep in right along with me on days off. She’s the kind of cat who eats when she’s hungry and stops whens he’s full so I just kept her food and water bowls filled and she ate and drank as she pleased. It wasn’t uncommon for us to greet daylight at 10AM or even later on the weekends.
And then the boys came along and put a quick end to our lengthy beauty rest. I soon realized that my new little puppy Ares was not only going to have me up at all hours of the night, he was also going to have me up and starting the day long before 10AM. Even on Sunday. Sure he would stop his incessant wining eventually, but knowing he needed to be taken out to potty, fed and walked had me out of bed to tend to my responsibilities. Chaos just doubled the reasons to be up by 8AM and that’s just the way it’s been for the last 2 years.
Even though now the dogs are older and adjust to time differences without much fuss, Little O will have none of it. If I’m in bed a minute too long I’ll shortly be awakened to very loud meows and little paws wigging underneath the bedroom door. And it won’t stop until he’s had his breakfast. Trust me, we’ve tested the theory.
While it would be nice for just leave food out constantly for everybody to eat when they wanted, it’s not so simple now. Chaos and Little O would devour their entire bowls and then move on to Ares’s and Piper’s, who prefer to eat more slowly and meticulously. Not only would it be unhealthy for all of them, it’s important for us to give them structure with feeding times.
Losing sleeping in privileges is one of the many things people don’t always think about before getting a pet. Making a living creature, especially one like a dog or a cat, part of your life comes with big responsibilities. If you’re sick or exhausted they still have to be taken care of. You can’t just go out of town on a whim or take a day trip without them unless you’ve got a trustworthy pet sitter. Sometimes you have to plan your entire day around them.
In the summer and early fall when temperatures are soaring, the dogs have to be walked either early in the morning before it gets too warm or later in the evening when it’s cooling down. During winter and spring it’s better to walk in the afternoon when temperatures reach their highest. Weather conditions like rain and snow can also dictate when we can walk. And because we don’t have a fenced in yard, walking is really important so we can’t just skip it unless it’s absolutely necessary.
We’ve changed timing for plans, showed up late, left early and bent over backwards to schedule things so that the dogs get their walk and all the furbabies are fed both meals at appropriate times. The cats have access to a bathroom whenever they need to use it, but the dogs can only be home alone for so long before they need to be let out. I left a bachelorette party to get home and make sure Ares and Chaos weren’t forced to hold it or have accidents inside.
Yes, never having the freedom to just do as we please can be frustrating at times. But our friends and family understand and honestly we wouldn’t change our lives with 2 dogs and 2 cats. I’ll trade sleeping the day away to 7:30AM Sunday mornings because now things just wouldn’t seem right any other way.
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