Easton & Yin.
My youngest son is allergic to the world. We didn't think we'd be able to have fur babies. The last time we had fur babies was in 2009, the year he & his twin sister were born. I didn't miss having pets with 2 sets of twins. 4 kids, my own business & renovating our 3rd home were enough for me, I couldn't add another thing to my already long list.
Fast forward 10 years, I saw an adult golden who needed a new home and I realized I was ready. (My golden, Tanner, passed away at almost 13yrs old 3 months before Easton & Adler were born.) However, Easton, itches profusely after petting dogs, and then breaks out when sitting on furniture that dogs have been on. Jer & I even went as far as to test golden dog hair on him with applied kinesiology. Jer got me golden dog hair & I took easton to our chiropractor. Of course he didn't react well. Could we work at desensitizing him, yes. But what if it didnt work? I can't have him miserable while at home. So no dog. 😔Thankfully, we never said anything to the kids.
Many years my oldest daughter has been asking for an emotional support animal. We have fish and I kept saying no to a snake, her dream pet after a horse. Fish weren't cutting it, she needs something she can touch and hold.
On a Sunday this past June she went onto Pet Finder to look for snakes didn't see any and then clicked cats. She looked at a bunch of cat photos but showed me Georgie's pic after she had an instant connection & frankly his pic spoke to me too. I started emailing inquires that night, his foster family was on vacation and would be back in 10 days.
I know what you're thinking, ummm...don't you have a kid who's allergic. Yes, this is how the kids found Yin. I had Jer or my parents take them to Petsmart's cat adoption areas, told Easton to take his mask off and get the fur in his face. He didn't react. He's allergic to the outdoors & foods. My thoughts are dogs are full of outside allergens, indoor cats are not.
Their 3rd time visiting a Petsmart they found Yin, a 1 yr old female tuxedo cat. The girls instantly bonded with her, so much so that they called me & I had to put on real clothes and meet them at the store.
While I didn't connect with her, the kids & Jer did. The store was closing so we put her on hold to think and talk about it.
What about George? is all I could think. Because deep in my soul I knew he was ours. Kids & Jer convinced me we needed 2 cats, that they would do everything. Since my kids come in sets of 2, this seemed rational. The next morning, we bought supplies and adopted her, 8 days after seeing George's picture.
We never saw Easton as a pet person, he didn't show much interest in dogs we'd see on walks or at the horse barn , he lost interest in his fish quickly but apparently, he is his cat person. It has been really fun to see, how Yin has him wrapped around her finger/toe/tail...whatever...you get the idea. 😊
3 days after adopting Yin, we met George. I'll share more about his story in the future. It wasn't as easy as Yin's.