So I’ve been putting off this post for a little while. Not incredibly intentional, but just because I always rather put up a happy post to a sad post— but it would feel silly to skip over a very important thing thats happened over here– unfortunate or not.
With the exception of Jerry the Fish (pt. 2), we had to say goodbye to all our pets. Well, ‘see you later’ to two of them and ‘goodbye’ to two. Since getting sick, a lot of things have obviously had to change around here. We’ve forcibly had to take life a lot slower. We’ve also had to learn to accept things we couldn’t change and be patient with– well, everything.
I became allergic to dogs when I was pregnant with Marlowe. So it’s been about five years now with a mild allergy. With Waylon, I wasn’t allergic to him when we first got him as small puppy, but as time went on, and he got his adult fur in, it got a lot worse, but I hated, hated the idea of giving him up since we had just got him, he was the sweetest pup, and it just felt terribly irresponsible on my end– and I was healthy and life was fine so we just kept moving forward, even with a dog allergy. But since coming back home from Massachusetts and since getting sick, my allergies have been truly unbearable. Honestly, even with the dogs gone, everyone still gets itchy when coming to this house, probably due to the lingering dog hair and dander. But for me it was especially hard, I would wake up and hardly be able to open my eyes. Jerry’s hair was terrible too. I really love that dog more than anything, he’s been my side kick for so, so long (8 or so years). I cry a little now when I see him, and he cries too when I can’t take him home with me. And even though he’s such an easy because he’s a terribly old man that doesn’t need much attention, we still had to say goodbye to him too. I’m lucky that my brother happily took him in— my brother and family have always taken him in when I needed the help— and I’m happy he’s there, just a few miles away. And poor Waylon, well he’s just a young pup and it felt awful keeping him any longer. No one here had the time or energy to give him the love he needed. Even just petting him would bring up the worst problems with me— how awful to keep a dog that can’t even be pet. Ugh, the whole thing sucks to be quite honest. Marlowe has been okay with giving Waylon to a new home, but has cried a lot about Jerry, I think she knows how truly special that dog has been in my life. She still has hopes we’ll be able to bring him back. I’d like to think we could, but I know the reality is we probably wont be able to have him back in our home. Waylon actually went to Eric— who then also found out he was allergic to Waylon— and also cried giving him up (sweetest, crazy dog). And now Waylon is with a friend of a friend— while I wish he was down the street with family, I’m jus happy he’s in a home with young kids that wanted a pup. All weekly reports back to us say that the new owners are incredibly happy and in love with Waylon.
And our chickens? Well, both ladies turned out to be males. We always had a suspicion that our white chicken, Little Haiti, was a rooster, but we kept holding out in hopes that we were wrong. But our tiny golden red Ella? We had no idea she would actually be a he. (S)he was so sweet, tiny, and not aggressive at all. But I guess early one morning, while Marlowe and I were still in Massachusetts, Alex woke up to a nice and loud wake up call. And being that our chicken coop is on the opposite side of the house from our master bedroom, well, it must have been pretty loud. It’s all slightly funny, slightly embarrassing, and a bit annoying, but it could be worse I guess. When picking out our chickens we had talked to the farmers about our plans– and they said if there was any problem at all, if it didn’t work out, or one should turn out to be a rooster, we could just bring them back. Well, with both of them being roosters, we had to say goodbye to both chicks. We do plan to get more hens soon– with our “chicken credit” from the farm, we’re just holding off until I feel a little better and the weather cools down a touch more. It’s still bit too hot out there and we want to be sure that everything can be perfect for them and they can be well cared for. So while we had to say goodbye to our dogs, I am happy to have the chance to at least have chickens for Marlowe to help raise. They were really great pets— even easier pets to care for than the dogs, if you ask me. Marlowe is dead set on getting the tiny baby chickens, but Alex and I are going to pick up some older ladies (sorry M) to ensure that they’re actually females. We don’t want to risk caring for more babies and having to turn them away again.
So yeah, it’s still a tough year. I’m on the mend, continuing ups and downs, and our family is still stuck in an endless cold cycle due to preschool, but thats life. I hate this post, it’s just really unfortunate the whole thing. We’ve already had to change so much around here, and now giving up part of our tiny family, I don know, it’s not fun. We’re just trying to move forward in all the tough changes and continue to think positive thoughts for the future. It’s sometimes a bit lonely around here without our pups. It still feels weird to open the door to guests and not have the crazies to try to settle down. But I just keep reminding myself that its for the best— they can be in homes where they have the love and attention they need and I can work on what I’ve been doing for the past 6-7 months— mending.
*garden photos by chelsae anne.
20 Comments
Hope you can have hens soon.. I love hens, I want to move to a house to rise them again. My hen was so smart and she would run fast to me when I used to call her name, so lovely!
I am sorry for what you face !
I would like to say i love your blog & your pictures ! They have something warm somthing make me feel good ! Wish you happy !
Areej
We also have had the rooster problem but found sex link chicks were available at Jupiter Feed. This discovery made the kids happy because they were little chicks when we got them and now our neighbors are happy too.
I'm so sorry you had to say good-bye to the pups! I can only imagine how hard that must've been (must be) for you considering how long you've had them, especially Jerry. It sounds like they've got good homes though, I'm happy for that! You've given them a great few years and I'm sure they couldn't have had a better home <3
~ Samantha
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What a challenging situation to be in! It takes courage and strength to do what is right for your family even when you know it is a painful decision. In the end, you did what was best for all pets alike and that is admirable! Hugs to you from CO.
yeah, I know you're right, I know its whats best, but I still feel like a jerk about the whole thing :/ I just keep reminding myself that their happy.
Drea, I know you wouldn't have done this unless you had to. Usually I judge people extremely harshly when they do things like this — but I love you and I am going to choose to believe that you absolutely had to do this. I know it's been a rough year and honestly you're brave for writing about all of this, given the nature of the internet and how rude everyone is. xx
ugh, I'm def. one of those people who is like "well you shouldn't have gotten a pt if you couldn't handle it"— we held off for weeks/months to see if it would get better— and making sure we had the best home for Waylon. Even though he would have got snatched up in a second, there was no way I would send him to the shelter. And yeah, I'm mostly expecting some angry people about the thing, like you said, the nature of the internet, but I haven't received any yet– but again, I wouldn't be surprised if I did.
Oh Drea, I'm so sorry you've had to say goodbye to them all, it must have been such a very difficult decision and I've no doubt you miss them terribly, especially dear Jerry. But it's good that they have loving homes to go to, and to know that they'll be well cared for and happy. I know how horrible it is being allergic to animals, I am a bit too, especially my eyes, and it's really quite unbearable if I touch an animal and touch my face, so I completely understand, you simply can't live like that. I'm sending you a cyber hug. Keep looking after yourself, CJ xx
your comment about no waylon in the photos kind of jabbed my heart the other day and reminded me I needed to post about this. Thank you for your constant kindness, CJ
Hello Drea! Here in Belgium you can adopt former battery-hens. I don't know whether you can do this in the States…Esther de Hen (< I know!! ;-))
Hm! I highly doubt it, the big factory farming industry is an a-hole here, but I will definitely look! Thanks for the tip!
It can be done! I know a vet who has a "battered women's shelter" of ex-battery hens. A couple of them are around 6 years old and still laying – despite single eyes, messed up feet, beaks, etc! Just ask around!
I'm sorry about the pets.. it is always frustrating to give away these adorable little guys, but I really hope you get better soon and even completely overcome the allergies 🙂
thank you dear <3
Such great pictures. It's rough to say goodbye to pets, but health is more important.
Morgan | theradwife.blogspot.com
thank you <3
This is always tough to do! Hang in there! Saying goodbye is never easy, but at least you will hopefully be more in control of the allergies.
Best of luck,
Mariam
http://www.thepetitebijou.com
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