I'm More of a Dog Person, But...

Over the past several months, our little family has made several trips to the local animal shelters looking for a "dog that matches our house", as Audrey puts it.  I have really been wanting a Golden Retriever (even though my dream is a New Foundland, but they go for around $1000, and I'm just not willing to spend that much on a dog).  Golden Retrievers are GREAT family dogs - smart, active, fun, good with kids.  Alas, we have not been able to find one.

Our latest trip to the shelter took place last week- on Thursday to be exact.  We again loaded up into the car, getting the kids all riled up over going to look for the perfect family dog.  "One that matches our house!" exclaimed Audrey as we drove away to the depressing facility.  (It breaks my heart to see all those puppies and kitties in their cages, looking up at you with big sad eyes as they are rejected over and over again because they are not the perfect dog).  I am happy to say that our local animal shelter went kill-free about a year ago after they were privatized, so that makes it a little less depressing.

Moving on - as we again walked the noisy chambers of the shelter, I had high hopes of finding the perfect one.  I just had the feeling that "today was the day" - that I would see the perfect little happy Golden Puppy falling over it's too big feet, looking up at me expectantly thinking "I'm right here! I'm the one you've been looking for!"  Unfortunately, I saw no such puppy.  Just row after row of dogs barking and jumping, but no dog that matched our house.

After we left the dog section, we decided to stroll through the kitty department.  There were lots and lots of cats at the shelter, everything from tiny kittens that probably shouldn't be away from their mother yet, to adult cats locked in big cages that slept and yawned lazily as we strode past them.  I've always been more of a dog person, but I am not completely opposed to cats.  We were particularly entertained by the giant ferret cage full of kittens out front next to the main desk. Tabbies, black and white kittens, and little orange kittens were biting each-others tails, nipping at one another's ears, rolling and frolicking around like kittens do.  Audrey and Kellen both laughed and giggled, and I got to thinking, maybe we should settle on a cat instead, since we weren't having any luck in the dog department.  Matt stuck his finger in the cage and pet a couple of the kittens, but we weren't really thinking seriously about it yet.  Right before we left, I noticed a sign that said "Free Cat Fridays" directly behind the large ferret cage of adorable fuzzy kittens.

We ended up leaving empty-handed.  We got home, relaxed for a while, and later I said to Matt, "Did you see that sign that said free cat Fridays?"  He had seen it, but neither of us were sure exactly what it meant (surely there was some catch?.  I called the shelter back to inquire, and they said that adult cats 6 months and older were free on Fridays.  "How much are kittens?" I asked, thinking I didn't really want to start off with an adult cat.   ""They are only $15 to adopt every day."

So, Matt and I got to talking more seriously about the kittens we had been admiring.  I'm not a big fan of litter boxes, but the plus side is that cats use the restroom in one spot, unlike dogs where they make a mess any old place outside.  Second, I'm pretty sure I'll kill the cat myself if I ever come home and find that it has scratched up my couches or walls.  I don't like sharp kitty nails raking down my furniture.  I expressed my concerns to Matt (he is more of a cat person than a dog person), but he made me feel better about each concern.  There are, after all, scratch posts, good kitty litter trays that don't smell too bad, cat toys, etc.  Okay then I said, let's just do this rather than sit around talking about it for the next month.  We then loaded everyone back up, and told the kids we were going back to the shelter to pick out a  kitty!

When we got to the shelter, we were able to "test drive" a couple of the kittens in the little play rooms they have where you can play with the pet you want to adopt.  The first one we picked was really timid and wasn't a big fan of the kids.  He just hid behind chairs and acted terrified, so I told Matt to go grab the other kitten we had talked about.  He came back with said kitten, a fuzzy little tabby that was friendly, frolicky and happy.  He tolerated the kids well and seemed playful and curious, so we decided he was the cat for us.

We took him up to the front desk and said we wanted to take him home.  After a little paper work, our new family member was loaded into a card-board kitty box and headed home with us!  We stopped at Target and Petco on the way home to pick up a litter box, litter, a toy, scratch post, carpeted house, water bowl, and a super cute blue little collar with a bell on it.  During our errands the cat ended up with several names: Pepsi, Washington, Declan, Audrey wanted to name him "Baxter the Bashful Bear" from an episode of Caillou, Gilbert (again from Caillou), and a handful of other names I can't remember.  Nothing seemed to fit him very well.

When we got home with him, we set up his litter box and little carpet house and let him roam around.  We quickly found that he was an "old soul" - calm, cuddly, and always wanting to be near and touching somebody, much more like an older cat than the 2-month old kitten that he was.  After the kids loved and loved on him for a while, we finally put the kids to bed so Matt and I had a peaceful evening getting to know our new kitten.  We spent some time searching the internet for a good name that fit our kitten, and during our searching, Matt came upon the name "Scout".  Right away we both felt like it was the perfect fit for him!    If you ask Audrey however, she will still tell you "I call him Gilbert". 

We've had Scout for almost a week now, and he is adjusting and fitting in great!  My biggest worry at this point is getting loved to death by the kids. He's been dragged by his tail, had his ears pulled and poked and prodded, been stepped on, fallen on, been picked up by his spine just above the tail, carried upside-down - you name it.  But, so far, he complains about it very little and seems to enjoy the attention.

Matt and I have let Scout sleep in our room the last couple of nights, but I'm thinking that he is going to be banished from now on.  His favorite place to sleep or rest is on my neck or face, and I don't appreciate that very much, especially when I'm in a good sleep.  Plus, his purr sounds exactly like the breast pump I used when my kids were babies, which is a little disturbing and annoying.  :)

Over-all we are happy to have little Scout in our lives, and I know he won't be a kitten for long.  Still, I don't rule out a dog in our future...

Meet Scout:

This is where Scout spent most of his first evening with us - on my shoulder.

He fell asleep like this.

Audrey playing with Scout.

Kellen learning how to pet "soft".