Sailor Bear

We found Sailor on Craigslist and adopted him in 2011 when I was 27. I told my husband that I either needed to get pregnant or get a puppy. 

 I definitely needed something to mother and give that maternal love and attention to, besides my amazing husband. We had actively been trying to get pregnant since we were married in October 2008, a puppy was the logical choice since it didn’t seem a baby was in the cards for us. 

 Therefore making our dog Sailor, our first baby. He went everywhere with us. He would ride with me to take Darren to and from work, to get food (well obviously only through drive-throughs). He has never, not once, been left in the car by himself. 

 Now if I won’t leave my dog in the car you know I won’t leave my kids in the car! When he was a puppy I would refuse to go out with my friends if my mom could not watch him for us because he was not crate trained and I didn’t want him getting into something and getting hurt. 

 My best friend complained that it was like I had a newborn baby at home and I was like “Hello! He is like having a baby at home!“ 

 He is literally treated like our child, because he is! Every time we go visit my mom in the country that’s a couple of hours away, he goes with us. He has a special little place in the back of the Jeep that my husband makes up for him and usually he ends up on top of our luggage looking out of the window or looking down over the kids in the backseat. 

 Maybe some of this sounds a bit excessive, but when my husband and I decided to get a dog we took it as a lifelong commitment. It’s not something that we took lightly. It’s truly magical and so rewarding for us to have Sailor in our family. 

 

To have the kids know him and love him the way we do. For them to see us take special care to make sure he’s as comfortable and happy as any of the rest of the family. Because he IS our family! 

 What special moments do you share with your own pets or maybe a friends pet in your life?

  I’d really love to hear that I’m not the only person out there who has such a meaningful connection with their little animal!