Pets and Their Quirks

I just read the CUTEST story:

The little girl orders a unicorn and the pet she gets, isn't quite what she had in mind. But of course, everything works out in the end. Sometimes the pet you think you want, isn't the one you end up getting.

I may like this story because I can relate! 7 summers ago I decided to get a puppy. I found one at a local rescue:

She was 3 months old and all I knew about her was that she was part of an unwanted litter. She was in the shelter for over a month because she had a respiratory infection. I adopted her and was so excited to bring her home and make her part of our family. She had other ideas though she bit and scratched at me the whole way home. She wouldn't let me sit on the floor with her, or in the grass with her, she would nip until I was black and blue. She didn't want to cuddle or fall asleep in your lap like many puppies do. Ruby walked around incessantly, like a shark, anxious all the time.

We went to 4 different trainers before I found one that understood her. We worked on training techniques, techniques to alleviate her anxiety. Everyone I knew told me to return her. Some people who I had never known to give up on anything suggested it-that really surprised me. One of the trainers told me "she will never be the dog you want her to be, she's not normal." But I couldn't give up on her.  Now 7 years later she has turned into a great companion.

                                                   She helps me do report cards.

She is literate.

She helps hang up the laundry.

She warms my feet when it's cold. I love when she curls up like a fox.

She is adorable when she sleeps.

She communicates what she wants very well. (She wants me to put treats in this bone. :)

Today, she is a beautiful companion. She protects me from all sorts of evil squirrels and the mailman. She makes me laugh every day.

So I completely understand the premise that sometimes you end up with the pet that you need rather than the perfect pet that you want. Sometimes you are meant to find and take care of each other.