By H.J. Harley, author of Finding Jordie
For ten years you’ve come home to Sparky, your loyal best friend since you were twelve. Without fail he’s waiting at the door when you come home with a wagging tail and big fat lick on the face, and that’s how it’s always been. You and Sparky, BFF. Sure, you’ve had boyfriends, but nothing that ever turned into anything serious, and at the end of the day there was Sparky with his unwavering affection.
Then it happens. You meet him. The man of your dreams. Date after date, it just gets better and better. You invite him to your place for a romantic tenth date. He shows up promptly at 7pm, flowers in hand, looking like Prince Charming, with an actual *ding* and all when he smiles. When you show him in, he kisses your cheek while handing you the flowers. As he takes that first step in, Sparky comes full speed around the corner and jumps up on ol’ Prince Charming and he immediately cowers back in disgust.
Oh no. He isn’t a dog person.
How could you have overlooked such an important detail? How did this never come up? You never mentioned old Sparky?? And just like that you realize you have a huge decision to make. Your past or your future? Who doesn’t like dogs!? Prince Charming, that’s who, and while putting Sparky in the spare bedroom for the evening will be a quick fix, what does this mean in the long run? Can you chose between your bestest and most loyal friend for over a decade and the guy that makes you warm and fuzzy all over?
I got lucky. My Prince Charming happened to have two dogs and a cat of his own when we met, so bringing my three cats into the mix was a cake walk. But I wonder sometimes what would’ve happened if he hadn’t been so accepting of my furry kids. Well, for me it’s pretty simple… They were here first. Love me, love my animals. But for some it isn’t that cut and dried. So the next step would be to figure out why exactly your mate doesn’t like domestic animals. Are they allergic? Does the thought of having to meticulously lint roll your clothing every ten minutes annoy them? Perhaps their favorite teddy bear was chewed up and violated by a poodle. Whatever the case is, you need to figure out why and see if there is any chance for a compromise in the situation, because if not, what it comes down to is, “It’s me or the dog.” And that just doesn’t work for me.
Have you ever had to choose between your furry kids and the man (or woman) of your dreams? Share your stories in the comments!
