The word family means different things to different people. For some, their closest family includes their best friends. For others, it means their spouse and children. For me, family has a broad definition. It includes relatives, friends, and animals.
I’ve noticed that once you have a child people begin to refer to you as a “family.” To me, this implies that somehow you do not qualify as a family unless you have children. I disagree. The union of two is the start of a family.
Years before Aedan came along, my husband and I started our family with our sweet male English Springer Spaniel, Guinness. A year later, we added to our family with the arrival of our lovable female Springer, Harp. These dogs were and continue to be our first babies. Don’t misunderstand me; Aedan added to our family in the most amazing and inconceivable way possible. But as far as I’m concerned, we have 3 little babies. We were a family before Aedan arrived and we are a stronger and better family now that he is part of it. They all adore and love one another and our family wouldn’t be complete without each one of them.
If you have animals, you likely understand what I’m saying. The love and loyalty an animal shows you is truly unmatched.
So let’s not forget about them. Give them a little extra treat tonight or take them on that walk you’ve been meaning to do. Treat them with the same care they show you. We could really learn so much from them.
After all, for many of us they were our first babies.
I always make sure our dog gets enough attention – it’s so important! When the baby goes to bed, it is dog time. We walk every day as a family and our baby is in love with his dog. Love our “first born” too – can’t imagine raising our baby without our dog in the house. They are best friends.
All of the animals that were our fur babies before our human babies came along have passed on. We have new fur babies, though. It’s nice that my kids have fur babies that they can grow up with. It was hard on them to have our 3 cats passing away just a few years apart from each other as they were younger.