Ted was the perfect pet. He was a yellow Labrador Retriever, a true family dog. When we first brought him home, I was 9 months old and my brothers were 5 and 7 years old. We spent much of our time with Ted, just as if he were another one of the boys! He was full of excitement every time he got to go on boat rides, travel in the car with us to MSU football games, drive around our subdivision in our golf cart, and swim in the pool. Ted got to do everything and anything he desired. He was well behaved, playful, energetic, loyal, and always wanted to please us-a well known trait of labradors. He was a truly caring dog that did a lot for my family in many ways. A couple years after getting Ted, my mom came home, just like any ordinary day from work, exclaiming “WE NEED A BABY KITTEN!”. Within 2 weeks, my family adopted the cutest kitten in the whole world named Ralphy.  Ted was 7 years old and Ralphy was 11 weeks old.  Ralphy didn't really get along with Ted when he first arrived at our house. But as time went by, they developed a very special bond.

It was scary at first, with Ralphy being so tiny compared to a gigantic 85 pound dog, and we worried the kitten might get seriously injured. We all tried to watch them like hawks. Although Ted was gentle, his playfulness was rough at times. For example, I remember when Ted was a few months old and would chase my brothers and me in the backyard and knock us over!!!  Watching Ted and Ralphy interact, I just kept thinking how people say if dogs and cats are together “they fight like cats and dogs”. I learned that the idea that cats and dogs always fight simply isn’t true. It seemed to be a very short period of time before they became friendly.

Throughout their time together, Ted and Ralphy gradually began to play together more and more. They seemed to enjoy each other’s company, especially when we were away from the house. When we took family trips and a relative would stay at the house to care for the animals, we would often see pictures of the two of them cuddling. We usually got comments back like “My cat and dog don't do this!” or “How do they get along so well?”.  It wasn’t til around 5 years later, when they began to alternate illnesses, that we really noticed how close they had become. Gradually, Ted started to experience old age and had a hard time walking and getting around. As this was happening, we were told that our 6 year old cat had heart problems. I believe his heart was broken for Ted. We were in disbelief that this could happen so soon to a young cat like Ralphy. While we were trying to come to terms with what we were told about Ralphy, and how to treat him, Ted got sicker and had a harder time walking. Little did we know what was soon to follow.

Christmas day started out as any normal Christmas. My brothers and I started running down stairs screaming “Ted? Ralphy? IT'S CHRISTMAS.” We crowded around the tree to sort out all the presents according to whose name was on the tag. As you might expect, we had to make sure all of us boys got the same number of presents! There were always a  handful of treats and toys for Ted and Ralphy, for nobody got left out on Christmas. We all alternated opening the gifts, until the very last one-a massive 7 foot stuffed bear for mom! Ted went to the front hall to chew his new bone and it was later Christmas day that we noticed he could no longer get up on his own. We were in disbelief-how? Why? On Christmas day???!!! Ted’s legs had finally given out and he never walked on his own from that day on. My mom realized what was happening and told us there were a few more things were going to have to do now that he couldn’t walk. We all took turns sitting and sleeping with him, making him comfortable with blankets and pillows. My mom told me “ Brett, your job is to take Ted out every single morning for him to go potty.” We got a harness and carried him out to potty when he would let us know he had to go, by barking loudly. Ralphy would lay by Ted much of the time and their bond grew even closer. About a month later, Ted got a blood clot in his leg and was in obvious pain. It was then we had to make one of the hardest decisions of life.

I will never forget the dreadful moment that we had to decide what would be best for Ted. My mom looked at us with tears running down her face and said “ I think it's time to put Ted down.” As a family we reluctantly agreed, and went together to the vet hospital a short time later. The look on my brothers and parents faces said it all about their emotions and it was truly heartbreaking. The ride home felt like an eternity and you could hear a pin drop, because no one knew what to say to each other. Walking into the house without Ted, we quickly realized  it would never be the same. I thought that was as sad as it could get but then ten days later, as I was heading to bed with Ralphy, he suddenly developed a saddle thrombus (blood clot) and couldn’t use his back legs. We rushed back to the same vet hospital and were told his condition was fatal. We were faced with the same horrible decision now with Ralphy and we knew there was no other option but to let him go, too. After gathering the whole family together again (my brother even drove back from college), we had to go through the same horrible experience as we did less than 2 weeks earlier with Ted. To this day, just the smell of the pet hospital, and the sounds of phones ringing and dogs barking, trigger painful memories for me. Through these heartbreaking tragedies, we learned how very important pets are to a family. Animals enrich our lives in so many ways, as the saying goes “A house is not a home without a dog”.  Because of this, we now have a new puppy and kitty to cuddle, love and share an amazing life with.