They are not just animals.....

okkkkkkkk
been having discusions with the  buy about my animals...
he thinks i have too many.
he says a dog and a cat are enough.
the extra cat and the birds are not needed.
i do believe it is a deal breaker.
i'm feeling alittle down about this turn of events.
but.
they are not just animals. they are my family. and i am NOT going to part with a single one of them for anybody.
how can anyone say that these little creatures are not important. how can anyone think that just because someone came into my life that i would not need these furry, feathery friends. how can anyone not realize that i did not have these dear little things becasue i was lacking anything.
i enjoy them i love them i like taking care of them.
anyone who has known me at all woudl realize this. they animals were here alot longer....
i'm going to go cuddle the furry feathery little buggers.
GROUP HUG!
thank you for listening and all thoughts or suggestions i will take into consideration as long as it does not involve shortening my family!

Hmm my thought...if he loves you, he should except and love your extended family...they are part of you as well, animals or not they are what makes you...you. I know my animals are like my children just with alot less mouth, I care for them and I love them. I think its selfish to want you to get rid of any...they were there before him and will probably be there long after he is gone...Ide stay firm and say NOWAY...take me with them or theres the door. Your animals are your family and not just a piece of furniture. From what youve written in the past its seems like you love them very much and thats not something you should give up. Not for anyone but yourself if you should decide to do that...it should be your decision not his. Thats my 2 cents...

thank you kim;
i know that my little problems are so minor and i apprecaite you sending a messge. i know it comes from the heart.
yes you and i are in agreement.
i'm too old (not really that old only 56 but old enough!) to bother with even trying to explain to him the ins and outs. he's not an animal person so he does not understand.
he does think that he's being more than fair in sayign that one cat an done dog are enough. hahaha this is not a fair thing! hahaha this is my or our lives together and just like you said they were here before him and yes they will be here long after he is gone.
i can count on them thinking im' wonderful even if i sleep late and don't get them out for potty or get their breakfast on time!
well each relationship in life is a learning experience.
god bless, pam

Keep your animals!! If you give up every thing except one dog and one cat, he will want you to give them away later.  If you love animals you need a man that loves them , too!! My husband is the greatest man in the world, except he doesn't want any animals. I had a little dog when we got married and she stayed in the house. She was 15 yearas old and got real sick, and I had to have her put to sleep. three years ago. I didn't want to get another dog then, I said I'm never going to get another aniaml to love and then lose. I have one cat and she is 15 years old. This is the longest time in my life I've not had a dog and I miss that kind of  love. You know the kind that always loves you no matter how you look or how you act, they are just sitting there wainting to love you. I just "borrow" my sisters dogs and love them, when , I missing my little dog. The other day Chalres said when that cat dies I want you to promise me you won't get another cat. I said okay, and I've promised the cat if you die I won't get another husband!! LOL  Judy

JUDY!!! THAT IS SOOOOOOO FUNNY, I LAUGHED OUTLOUD!!!  So good to see you, dear one. Where have you been and what's going on in your world? Love, Maureen

Oh wow!  This is a really touchy subject for me.  Love me, love my animals. 

When I started struggling financially when my employer started cutting our paid work days, The Man started to suggest that maybe I had more animals than I could afford right then.  Well maybe that's what I thought he was going to say because he never got a chance to finish what he was going to say.  The look on my face made him take a step back and and I think I might have turned his hair white.  I'm surprised he didn't burst into flames and turn into a little pile of ashes and a puff of smoke.  I don't know what was originally going to come out of his mouth, but what did come out was an an offer to pay for food and vets and anything else I needed.  Later I asked him if he was going to suggest that I give up any of my animals and he told me that there was no way he would ever ask me to give up anything that important to me.  He said he knew what he was getting into from the beginning.  The Man is OK with critters, but he's not the nut I am.  Because they mean so much to me, he went the extra mile to be friends and win them over.  Now the darned dog is more excited to see him than me!  I love that man.

The way I see it is these animals were around first.  I made a commitment to them they day I brought them in the house and they trust me and love me unconditionally.  I understand that there are times when you just can't keep an animal if you really can't afford to feed the pet and yourself or someone is allergic or it becomes a danger.  There are several legitimate reasons for finding another home for a beloved pet, but because "they are not needed?"  Come on!  Lets face it, a man is not "needed!"  By the way, I'm trying to type around my cat's tail.  lol  The brat. 

So what happens if you get rid of the "extras?"  What are you going to be asked to do next?  Stop visiting your mother?  Kids can't come visit?  And let's say that you get rid of the "extras", what gaurantee is there that this guy hangs around?  Then you're left with empty space and a whole lot of resentment.  Didn't he step out of the picture for a while because of your LBS issues and not being able to dance? 

I don't know Pam, but if he really loves you, how can he ask you to give up something that means so much to you?  He has to know how miserable you would be without your furred and feathered friends.  Why would he want you to be heart broken like that?  Would you ask him to give up something that you knew was very important to him?  I don't think so. 

Maybe I've said too much, but as far as I'm concerned, this is crossing a line that can't be uncrossed.  I apologize if I've said anything I shouldn't, but I care for you and feel pretty strongly about this.

Big Furry Hugs (the more the better),
Connie

Pammy, I agree with Kim, if he loves you he will take the animals as well. As you remember I lost my dogs due to an idiot jerk. So I can so relate to what you are saying. Say good-bye if he
does not want all of your animals to stay.
BTW- the idiot is trying very hard to get back into my life & I just can't do that after losing my Dogs
& him trying to kill me. He really thinks I will forget all of that. Not in this lifetime.
Stick to what you know is right!!

I respect animals more than humans. We are for the most part a pretty stupid lot; if we would look to the animal kingdom to find the answers to our problems, the world would be a better, more beautiful place. Keep your menagerie family, they need you as much as you need them.  Hugs, Maureen

You guys are wonderful right on track with how I feel and felt about this whole animal thing.
I agree with every single one of you and what you have said. And the story of promising the cat not to get a new husband was the BEST!
And connie your right! he did get all odd when I was in the middle of the bad part of LBS!!! I forgot about that!
My ex husband was not an animal person. that was not fun. I told the guy about that too and said thats why he's an ex. Of course thats not the only reason why he's an ex but I don't have enough giga gaga or mega bites on this computer to relive that nightmare!
I will never give them up unless unforseen things happen. And I've made plans for most of those. I know that the birds especailly Paulie the wonder bird will out live me. So he has his reserve home and I've made my kids promise if the reserve home is not available to find him a good safe place to live if they do not want to care for him.My kids are animal lovers maybe not as crazy like me about it but they will do the right thing for these creatures if they have to. The guy I do not trust to handle it the way I'd want it done.
each of us are animal lovers.
Thank you very much all of you from the bottom of my heart.

I think about what will happen to Laela when something happens to me a lot. Jim can't take care of her, he doesn't know a thing about horses (but he's a pretty darn good pooper-scooper-upper). Laela and I have such a bond and I am so happy I got her out of that boarding situation and brought her home. All the time I was thinking I couldn't take good enough care of her on my own, I don't know enough, she's still so young and spooky at times (baby-headed horse brains) that I was afraid I would get very hurt. Horses take all their cues from what their human is feeling; the only way Laela can become a confident horse in her work and on the trails is sensing that I am confident, that I'm not going to let anything bad happen to her. Horses are instinctive animals, they think about two things constantly: what to eat, and how to avoid being eaten. Just those two things dictate their every thinking moment. So Laela has to believe that I won't let anything eat her up when we're out on the trails together. We have come so far in these last three weeks, my confidence level is soaring so guess what - so is Laela's! And she knows when my car is coming down the road, she breaks into a trot to the end of the pasture fence and whinny's her hello to me. And I get out of my car and do my sing-songy greeting, 'LAE-LA!' And she calls right back to me. That's the way it used to be with Sophie when I came home from work. She'd bound up to my car and wait for me to step out, and then she would start howling and I'd start howling and we were both howling our, "Hello my lovely, how was your day, I'm so glad to be home with you!" together. I talk better to animals than to people. I offend people although I never intend to. But somehow I do. Animals love me. And I them. I'm with Connie, I can live without a man easily, but not without my animal loves. They are a part of me. It's why I still ache so much, even though Sophie died over two years ago. Love you guys, Maureen