Tough Decisions

This past weekend was a sad one in the Larson’s household, as we said good-bye to our four furry friends, Toby, Oliver, Cooper and Noah.

Over a month ago, Nick and I had the discussion on what to do about the animals because my allergies were not getting any better, and I was tired of feeling like I had a ‘cold’ constantly. We decided it was time to find new homes for the animals.

A little back story: 6 years ago when I got the cats, then kittens, I had no idea I had allergies. About 2 years later I went to the doctor to figure out what to do with this ‘cold’ that I had been having for a year. Surprise, surprise- I found out I was allergic to dogs and cats. Since I wasn’t about to give up my cats, I started doing whatever I could to help with the allergies. I limited where the cats could go. I tried not to nuzzle my nose in their fur. I took medicine every day. I cleaned… a lot. During this time I met a boy who just happened to have two large labs. Go figure we would fall in love, and our houses would merge just over 2 years later. I stepped up the actions to help with the allergies. Weekly shot therapy for a person who HATES shots, very expensive nose sprays, and more cleaning--- lots more cleaning. Nothing fixed the problem, and the shots and nose sprays didn’t help any.

Over the past few months, my allergies started to get worse. I couldn’t tell when a cold stopped and the allergies took over. It was frustrating. I felt like I was constantly sick with sneezing, a running nose, coughing and headaches. The decision was made to re-home the animals. It wasn’t an easy one. Probably one of the hardest ones I/we have ever had to make. I know, the die-hard animals lovers out there are probably thinking “how could you,” and the non-animal lovers are thinking “who cares.” Until you actually live through the situation, it is hard to fully understand. At this point I had to be selfish and put my quality of life first.

We got really lucky with the dogs, Cooper and Noah, as one of Nick’s old co-workers said she would adopt them. The dogs started their two week trial period in Newton on Saturday (to make sure the dogs get along with their new doggy siblings and that eliminating the animals makes a difference in my ‘cold’). It sounds like they will have a rough life ahead of them in Newton… NOT… daily walks, no kenneling during the day and a bed of their very own to share with their new brother dog and sister dog! They are living the high life now. We were not as lucky with the cats, Toby and Oliver. We thought we found a home for Toby, but that fell through. Then we found a lady who was going to start a re-homing service for cats and would take both of them, but that too fell through. Postings on CraigsList, Petfinder, work classifieds and memos to friends didn’t result in a good home for the little guys. The cats ended up going to the ARL on Friday. I was very sad to have to take them there, but after talking with the workers there I felt a little better since Toby and Oliver seem highly adoptable, and I am hoping will find a new home really soon (if not already).

The house is quiet and it gets a little lonely at times. I know that with time this will pass, and Ellie will keep us busy for years to come. I will miss playing fetch with Toby (he plays fetch better than a dog!), and watching Oliver roll around in an effort to get attention. I will miss Oliver playing with his rolling ball, and Toby lying in sun patches looking up at me with his sleepy eyes. I will miss the love they give when I am sad or feeling sick. I won’t miss their scratching at the door to get out in the morning. Or their jumping on the kitchen counter to see if we happened to leave them some extra food (although I am still baffled as to how Toby could get an entire loaf of bread off the counter in the kitchen, down the hall, and over the baby gate into his room--- without help.) I won’t miss Cooper slobbering all over the floor after getting a drink of water, but I will miss the love that he gives to Nick. I will miss Noah, and how all he wants in the world is love and food. I won’t miss the hair and dander, or cleaning as much. Most of all, I won’t miss the sniffling, blowing my nose, sneezing, headaches and coughing. I can already tell a difference, and haven’t had a headache in a few days! I hope it continues to get better after we get through the spring allergy season (I also have seasonal allergies). Only time will tell.

Miss these little (and big) guys!