Animals

The wife and I are definitely animal people. When we first moved in together in a one-bedroom apartment in Milwaukee, we got a cat from the Humane Society. Even though I'd always had lots of pets (at one point, 10 cats and two dogs - possibly a horse), I was skeptical about having an apartment cat. As soon as the cat moved in, I realized that my doubts were silly. There were some things that were harder with a cat in an apartment - the constant desire for escape, for one - but it was worth it for the companionship.

When we were looking at houses, one of my biggest needs/wants in the places we toured was a reasonably sized yard so that we could get a dog. About a week before moving, we had been looking at rescue dogs when we stumbled across a litter of puppies on craigslist... I had some doubts about getting a dog from craigslist, but we made an appointment to see them and couldn't resist. Of course, that 8 lb puppy has turned in to an 80 lb monster.

So many people have an opinion about the coexistence of animals and babies. Most are worried about our giant dog jumping on the child, causing trauma and countless injuries. The dog is big, but she's harmless. She loves kids and is (usually) very gentle with them. If they get excited or run away, she'll chase them because she's just a puppy herself, but that's normal. I'm FAR more concerned about the cat. Our cat has a mean streak that usually comes when he's disturbed from a nap. If he's sleeping on the bed and I turn over, shifting him slightly, he'll dig his claws in to my arm. It's truly absurd. My fear is that he'll climb in to the bassinet with the baby and the baby will end up with life-altering scars.

We'll do our best to keep both animals out of the baby's room, but it's going to happen anyway. I guess all we can do is hope for the best and keep our fingers crossed that everyone can live in some semblance of harmony.