Weddingbee Blog

Be sure to check out all the posts in our Relationship Series here!

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What is your/your SO’s stance on pets (are you in agreeance on the kind, and how many, or does the subject make you fight ‘like cats and dogs’)?

Miss French Fries - When Mr. FF and I got together, I liked dogs, but he wasn’t a huge fan of cats because of allergies. He had a dog that I met on our 2nd date, and I loved him! I had a cat that he met pretty early on, and has genuinely grown to love (he holds her all the time and loves when she licks his nose!) and he’s built up some sort of weird allergy immunity towards her so that he doesn’t sneeze constantly when she’s around. It worked out really well!

When we moved in together, we weren’t sure how the dog and cat would get along, but it worked out great. They got along just fine… so fine, in fact, that we decided to get another dog! Our house is somewhat of a zoo, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

I grew up a huge animal lover, so I’m not sure I could marry someone that wasn’t a fan of pets. I’ve even made Mr. FF promise to move us somewhere warm when we retire so that we can open a shelter for cats & dogs.

Mrs. Deviled Egg - Right now, we are both OK with not having pets. We are away from home too much during the day while we’re at work and it wouldn’t be fair to any pet we would get. We both really love my mom’s dog, Gidget, so having her for an occasional weekend visit when my parents are away is enough for us.

Here is little Gidgalicious in her Christmas coat:

I’m not sure when we’d get a dog or cat of our own. Maybe after we have children.

Miss Hamster - Mr. Hamster and I are both huge fans of pets and animals, and are self-proclaimed “dog people”. That being said, I’ve had my furbaby cat for 6 years and she’s a total character! When the cat moved in, Mr. Hamster tolerated her enough, but the smart little bugger knew how to worm her way into his heart. I often find her on his lap, where she has been for hours, because (in his words) he had “no choice but to pick her up”.

This is Tilly. She’s working on her Weddingbee application (obviously).

Miss Trail Mix - I don’t like dogs. There, I said it and I’m not ashamed to admit it. People judge when I tell them that. Unfortunately, Mr Trail Mix is allergic to cats and is hell-bent on getting a dog. We will probably be getting one when we move into an apartment that allows dogs and is big enough but I have already set some guidelines:

1. No bigger than 40 lbs
2. I will never ever have to pick up its poop.

Mrs. Mary Jane - Mr. Mary Jane and I are both “practical pet people”. This means we don’t like to take on any pets that would increase our stress levels or be unfair to the animal. We recently got a cat, and justified that with the knowledge that a cat can fend for itself throughout the day. They don’t get lonely as easily as dogs do, and don’t need to be let outside to do their business. We both really like cats, and neither of us is allergic, so it is a good choice for us. Our little furball is so much fun! As far as a dog, we do both like dogs, too. We’re waiting until we have a different living situation. Namely: a normal daily schedule and a larger house and/or area where a dog could run around. We would feel cruel to leave a dog cooped up in our 1800 sq. foot home while we’re at work, and we do not want to be ‘those neighbors’ who just leave their dogs out barking in the yard all day. (We already have those neighbors. Heh.) Also, like Trail Mix, We’re not thrilled about picking up dog poop. It almost makes dog ownership not worth it to us. We both grew up with dogs, but in the country (where poop doesn’t get scooped!).

This is Tiberius: he joined our little family just about 3 weeks ago (he is somewhere between 6 and 10 months of age).

Mrs. Cowboy Boot - On our honeymoon, we were told we look like “dog people”. Yep, that’s true. We have two dogs (both two years old) that we adopted from a shelter here in Santa Fe. We’d wanted a dog together for a couple of years but lived in NYC and didn’t want to get a small breed. Thus, when we moved to New Mexico, we happily adopted our pooches, Rio and Odin. More than likely, we’ll have more dogs in the future. I mean, how can you say no to this???

Miss Frozen Yogurt - I LOVE pets!! I search Craigslist for animals that need homes, trying to entice Mr. Fro Yo with their sweet little faces, but he’s not having it. He likes pets fine, just not as much as I do. We already have one dog, but I think she needs a friend! It doesn’t have to be another dog though, maybe a cat, or a potbelly pig, or… you know, anything! I tell him a new pet could be my wedding present. I think it’s still a no.

Mrs. Beagle - Prior to dating Mr. Beagle, I was completely a cat person. I grew up with cats for pets and dogs just scared me. After I started dating Mr. Beagle, I found he was allergic to cats, like, break-out-in-hives allergic, so living with cats was out of the question. I gave up my cat, and we got the next best thing—a basset hound (which is really like a huge cat that shows a little more affection). I think we’ll probably get another dog whenever we move out on our own (right now we live with BIL Beagle and his dog, Oso) so that Kingsley has a friend. While I’m pushing for another basset, I think Mr. Beagle is leaning towards a Lab.

Miss Lamb - I am a dog person. I’m particularly crazy about large dogs (Newfoundlands, St. Bernards, German Shepherds, Mastiffs, Labs, etc.). Our family Lab that I grew up with, is the best dog on earth, IMHO, and it’s hard for me to live life without a dog. I had a roommate with 2 cats and I warmed up to kitties, too. Lambster doesn’t hate animals, but he hates hair and poop. He also hates that animals cramp your style as far as having to plan your schedule around taking care of them. Our current deal is that when we have kids, I can get an animal because kids cramp your style way more than animals.

The roommate’s kitties - Sylvester (of the dress story fame) and Spunky

Sage, our dog, and me near Camp David a few autumns ago.

Mrs. Penguin - Mr. Peng actually turned me on to little dogs. He grew up with his beloved Shih Tzu, Kirby, who is part Lhasa Apso. I just love Kirby so much that I wanted a dog of my own when I graduated from college, and got Billie Jean, my Lhasa Apso. Mr. Peng loves Billie as much as he loves me (probably more) and he often jokes that if we don’t have kids perhaps we can have our own Lhasa farm. It sounds like fun!!! We’re both fans of small dogs. HUGE fans! I don’t think I could have more than one dog at a time, but Mr. Peng thinks maybe we could, if we don’t have kids. They’d both be small/medium (like Billie) if we did. I like just the one.

Here’s Billie Jean! I kiss her on the lips. THERE, I SAID IT!!!

Mrs. Cherry Blossom - Poor Mr. CB. Let’s just say he went from zero dogs, to quite a few after we got married. It was always part of our relationship and as long as I’ve known him, my family and I own dogs, but over the years, we’ve adopted a few, growing our brood. The best part for Mr. CB is that they’re all yappity small dogs that drive him absolutely bonkers. When they are calm, he doesn’t mind them so much, but when something ticks one off, they bark like there’s no tomorrow and I completely understand that it is a bit much for him to handle. Overall though, he treats my babies well and accepts them even though at times, he’d prefer not to.

Mrs. Bunny - I grew up without any cats or dogs, so it’s totally weird to me that Mr. Bunny’s two cats are now half mine.

He is an animal person, in general, and would love to get a dog (or several) very soon. I would like a dog eventually, but I think I would prefer a small to medium dog, rather than a large dog. Mr. Bunny, on the other hand, would love a large dog like a Huskie. I can’t help but think about how much they shed and how big they are and how loud they bark. *wince*

For right now, we are happy with our two kitties, but we know we’ll have to deal with our dog differences at some point!

Miss Rainbow - Mr. Rainbow & I both love animals. Mr. Rainbow grew up around dogs and cats (and a few lizards and snakes) and I grew up with dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, guinea pigs, bunnies… you name it, we had it. We even had a baby squirrel and a baby duck at one point. Needless to say, we’re pretty much game for anything when it comes to animals. As long as we have the space, time, and money, why not give an animal a good loving home? We currently have three little dogs, and we would probably have a cat, too, but I have horrible cat allergies, so it’s just the dogs for now. Once we have a house with a nice big yard we’ll probably get a big dog, too. He wants a German Shepherd, I want a Great Dane. We’ll see what happens. I’m still trying to convince him to let me get a raccoon and a skunk (they can be de-sprayed) when we get a house. They are sooooo cute. I’m not so sure how that one will pan out, but how much would you freak if you went to someone’s house and a skunk came up to greet you? Hahahha, I love it!

Miss Potato Chips - I’m allergic to all dogs (even the “hypoallergenic” ones) and to most cats. And yet, we have a double-pawed cat named Thumbs. She showed up on our doorstep one winter and has been with us ever since. Surprisingly, she doesn’t bother my allergies too much, but dogs make me wheeze. And the big ones scare me. I’m on year three of five of allergy injections, so maybe a dog will be in our future. I’m angling for a bunny, but Potato Head is not having it… I like how independent and chill cats are, especially Thumbs.

Mrs. Mouse - The Dude and I have two cats, Oddibe and Crookshanks. They sleep with us every night—they’re our babies! We are definitely cat people. However, I also really like dogs, and I’ve wanted a pug or a bulldog (or really any kind of small- to medium-sized mutt) for awhile now. But the Dude is very much anti-dog. He doesn’t hate them, he just thinks they are too much work and rather annoying at times. I’m OK without a dog, but I wish I had one I could play with every now and then.

Mrs. Tulip - We have a dog and 4 cats. We’re like the Brady Bunch of house pets — we both had a “proper” number, but then we got married and all moved in together!

Ms. Swan - I am not a big pet person at all. It’s actually not because I don’t like animals. It’s because I don’t really have an interest in putting the time, energy and money into a pet. I think pets deserve loving and attentive owners, and I don’t think I would be one (the attentive part at least). We live in a not-so-big place and both can work crazy hours at times, so I just think a pet isn’t really conducive to our lifestyles. Also, Mr. Swan is allergic. At the same time, he claims having a pet is a good idea and that we should have one in the future for the sake of some baby Swans. I really prefer not to have pets in the future but if I have to compromise, I don’t mind having a pet if Mr. Swan doesn’t mind living off of high doses of allergy meds, and I don’t have to care for it.

Mrs. Candy Corn - If I could surround myself with animals as opposed to people, I totally would. I am like a crazy cat lady, but minus the cats because they make me sneeze and my eyes pop out of their sockets. Our/my pet obsession began in college when I decided I was going to be rebellious and get a chinchilla during our junior year. I had a really high bunk bed with no bed under it so I was able to hide the little lass in her huge cage under my bed by draping curtains down so the building inspectors wouldn’t notice a little critter. Then I found out that it’s best if you have two chinchillas so they aren’t lonely, so I went back to the chinchilla breeder and found Maude a friend, Ethel Funk (named after a lunch lady on our campus). It took a bit of warming up, but before we knew it, they were spooning BFFs. Once I entered my senior year and had an on-campus apartment, my bunny obsession began, and Mama Candy Corn was kind enough to encourage it by getting me a lop-eared bunny for my birthday/graduation gift. I named her Willamena Nelson and then realized a week later that she had bunny balls, so I promptly changed her name to Willie Nelson.

Once Mr. Candy Corn and I moved into an apartment, I knew it was time for us to rescue a dog from the shelter. We visited the local SPCA and found a terrified Westiepoo, shaking in the corner and too afraid to bark or wag her tail. Mr. Candy Corn decided she was the one, and every day I’m so thankful for his choice. Our pooch, Betty White, is incredibly neurotic because of her past abuse and is attached to me at the hip and terrified when we have visitors, but I love her anyway. (Even if she sometimes gets nervous and poops on our bed. Sigh.)

My bunny obsession continued in 2006, when we were getting pet food at PetSmart and the local SPCA was there with rabbits that needed homes. I gave Mr. Candy Corn my sad puppy eyes and he gave me his permission to have a fifth member of our menagerie. We were told by both the SPCA and our vet at the time that it was a boy, so we were a little surprised when “he” popped out five babies in the middle of the night a month later. Needless to say, we got a new vet. Cadbury, the mama, was really aggressive and trying to harm her babies, so we had to basically raise them on our own. I found safe, happy homes for them all except the runt of the group, who we had grown quite attached to after he had reached near death by having his mama grab him by the neck as a wee little thing. We decided to keep the little feller and name him Applesauce (Mr. Candy Corn selected that lovely name), and he is the sixth and final member of our four-legged family.

Once we have a house, we’d like to foster dogs as well. I’m a partner with the local SPCA and I really think it’s important to help as much as you can. I think it’s really given us a great sense of responsibility. It’s a TON of work, but it is definitely worth it in our eyes.

Mrs. Sprinkle - Mr. Sprinkle and I love animals. LOVE THEM! We have three rescued cats (Ike, Freddie Mercury and Sweet Kitten) and if we didn’t have a landlord we would probably have a whole houseful. We would love to get a small dog someday, when we own a home of our own. I also take care of two rats when I am at preschool (Elvis and Van Halen), but the rats wouldn’t mix with our cats, which is why they are classroom pets only. Luckily, we are totally in agreement about pets, although sometimes I see the feral kitties in our neighborhood and want to take them all in, and Mr. S has to gently remind me that we already have a full house!

Mrs. Duckling - I cannot wait until we get a dog! Mr. Ducky knows that I LOVE dogs and he loves them too. Ultimately I really want to have a yellow lab or two, but we will wait until we have a house and yard for them. We are in an apartment now and are thinking about maybe getting a small dog in the next year or so. Part of me really misses having a dog, but then I know that it will be harder to get away.

Mrs. Joey - I want a doggie — bad. He’s allergic to them (he thinks) but says he may be open to a hypo-allergenic dog (apparently poodles) once we’ve moved. We can’t have cats because we’re both really allergic. He really wants a Vietnamese potbelly pig but I just don’t think I can give up bacon.

Mrs. Bee - Mr. Bee and I lovelovelove animals. One of my dreams has always been to open a no kill shelter, and live some place more rural where we’ll be able to raise a variety of farm animals.

Mr. Bee has always been a huge dog person, but he wasn’t so much a cat person because he’d never owned one and he’s slightly allergic. I brought Smokey the cat with me with I moved to New York from Los Angeles after we got engaged. Smokey is a beautiful cat, but a spoiled princess. Last year I brought her sister Sparky to come live with us because she got cancer and I was better able to take care of her than my parents. Sparky looks like a common alley cat, but she is the sweetest cat of all time. She is the one that convinced Mr. Bee that cats can be truly awesome.

Mrs. Yorkie - We’re both animal lovers! Right now, it’s just us, and Mr. Y’s two adopted cats. In a couple of weeks, we’ll finally add Bella to the mix permanently. (I’m not as nervous about it as I used to be.) It’ll be great to have her to snuggle up with again whenever I want!

Since I was a kid, I’ve always had a veritable zoo: parrots, cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters, a guinea pig, and even a huge white turkey named Tito. I’m really used to home being slightly on the crazy/noisy/squawky side with lots of activity. I kind of miss it, actually. If we had the space and resources to welcome home more pets, I know we would in a heartbeat!

Here are some of my favorite feathered family members, who are doing a great job of keeping Mama Yorkie company in her newly emptied nest.

Clockwise, from top left: Houdini (the escape artist), Tex (loves dancing to C&W!), Guido (figured out he was a she from the egg-laying), Mia (the sweetest, cuddliest thing ever!), and Pretty Bird (who has a thing for screaming “PEANUT BUTTER!” and “BELLA!” at the top of her little lungs)

Miss Pretzel - Mr P had a fish growing up for a whopping 3 weeks and he couldn’t keep it at his house because they didn’t have a tank for it. Me, I’ve only not had a cat for a year and a half. When he and I first started dating he told me he didn’t like cats. It was almost a deal breaker. In reality, he hadn’t spent much time around cats and had some allergies to them. Thankfully I didn’t press the issue, and as he started to spend more time at my place my kitties won his heart (it helped that over time his allergies subsided, too).

We currently have 2 cats. Cassanova is 11 and acts like a 3 year old puppy (no really, he fetches, waits by the door for me, and is about “his people”). Cheese (I got her in Wisconsin) is a 7 year old small, fluffy, orange cat. She’s the opposite of Cass; shy and more cat oriented than people oriented (no really, she’s in love with Cass). I say “we” because even though the furballs live with me and I had them before Mr P and I met, I think the cats might like him more. Since he has become part of our lives Cheese has come out of her shell and spends a lot more time hanging around “the people”.

As much as he loves them, Mr P has never lived with cats. When we move in together we both know there will need to be some getting used to. It’s mostly the cat hair that he thinks will bother him. We’ve agreed that they won’t be allowed in the bedroom and that will be a major change for them, as they love to lounge on my bed all day and snuggle with me at night. I think I’m going to have to kick them out of my room months before the move to get them used to it.

Mrs. Peep Toe - I adopted my belolved Huckleberry almost a year before I met Mr. Peep, and he rescued his beloved Ferris about 6 months before we met.

If Mr. Peep weren’t a dog person, he would have been kicked to the curb after date number one!! That’s how important Huck is to me. Now he refers to Huck as his dog and gets upset when he sleeps on my side of the bed (yes, he sleeps with us).

As for our lion (scratch that) cat, Ferris has moments when he is absolutely lovable and adorable, but some moments when he can be a terror. While he’ll always be Mr. Peep’s cat, he’s a part of our family and deep down, I love him.

I think we’ll stick to two pets for now. I don’t think we could fit more in our one bedroom apartment.

Mrs. Sea Breeze - Growing up, Mr Breezy had a dog named Sarah who was a huge part of his life. On our first date, he kept talking about Sarah this and Sarah that and how much he missed Sarah… that I thought she was maybe a daughter he had from a previous relationship!!

Not that I don’t get it. Growing up I had a beloved dog named Fifi… and also 5 other dogs, dozens of cats, oodles of bunnies, several horses, a chicken named Jaws a cow named Oly. Yes, I had quite the Dr Doolittle childhood.

Today, we live in a small place and we don’t have any pets. Mr Breezy is allergic to cats and I don’t foresee having another pet chicken anytime soon (unless they rewrite the city bylaws to allow condo owners to have them, in which case HECK YA; I want me a Henrietta and fresh omelets every day!) but I definitely think we’ll get a dog one day. Maybe not right away, but for sure when we have kids. We couldn’t imagine it any other way.

Mrs. Stiletto - We are definitely pet people, and have been asked (and I quote) - “Are you going to have kids or just pets?”

We have two cats - Linus, our big fluffy grey furball and Basil, our sweet, shy gray tabby cat. We’ve had Linus for almost 2 years, and Basil for 3 1/2 years.

Our dog, Charlie, is a beagle/foxhound mix that we got about 6 months ago. He has definitely completed our family!

The pets are ours, and we made the collective decision to get each and every one of them. All three are rescues from Chicago-area animal shelters. As we added each one into the family, we both have worked very hard to get them all to get along (a continual work in progress!) and our life together would be a little more empty without our own little “zoo” in the house!

Mrs. Taffy - Mr. Taffy and I are both ridiculously allergic to cats, and he is also very allergic to dogs… so it’s a good thing that we have birds!

Before we met, I adopted two adorable baby canaries, and named them Fluffenstein and Chirpenstein. (Chirpy and Fluffy for short!) By the time Mr. Taffy and I were dating, the aggressive male Chirpy was harassing Fluffy so badly that we had to return him to his former home, where he was very happy. Mr. Taffy helped me choose a new canary, and I asked him to name her. He chose to name her Luna, as she is white, silver and yellow.

Unfortunately, a month after our wedding, our adorable pet Fluffy was a victim of Vet malpractice, and she died a few weeks later. We will never trust another vet again!!! I raised her from the time she was 6 weeks old… I was completely devastated. We are just now starting to look for another bird, so Luna won’t be as lonely. Losing a pet is so difficult!

The best part of the story—Fluffy taught Luna to sing, and now Luna sings every day. I still really miss our sweet little fluffball, though!

Mrs. Hot Cocoa - I got my shih tzu, Jellyby, when Mr. HC and I broke up briefly several years ago. As a result, he sometimes feels like she was his replacement. And I have to say that she acts a lot like him; to see the two of them sleeping is hilarious — they both sleep with their hands/paws on their tummies and snore like freight trains! It’s very cute. Although I spoil her, he’s the one she fawns over. When he comes home, it’s like Hanukkah. She runs around him, jumps and tries to kiss his face, and squeals like a ten-year-old at a Jonas Brothers concert. Hrrmph.

For me, dogs are like cupcakes. No reason to stop at one! So if I had my way, we’d get at least one other dog. But Mr. HC thinks one is plenty of work already!

Mrs. Lovebird - Before we got our little Babu (I call him my lil’ Babu Bear), I was not an animal person, let alone a dog person. In fact, I was afraid of all animals! Birds, dogs, cats, you name it. I’m still afraid of all animals, but I’m getting better around doggies. I think it’s because I had a few traumatic experiences as a kid. Needless to say, I didn’t have any pets growing up, nor did I want any. Mr. Lovebird never had any pets either, but he’s always liked dogs. Last year, Mr. Lovebird said he wanted a puppy for our first Christmas as a married couple. I agreed to go to a pet shop with him (just to look), and made about three trips to the animal shelter (once he has his mind set on something, it’s hard to change it). The next thing I know, we are walking out of the pet shop with a puppy and I was even afraid to hold him in the car while Mr. Lovebird drove home. It took a little while for me to get over my fear, but with a face like this, how could anyone not love him…

Now, I can’t imagine our lives without him, and Mr. Lovebird is pestering me for another doggie to keep this little cutie company. We’ll see…

Here’s the first picture we ever took of him:

Miss Parfait - We loooove dogs! When we move in together, we’ll have two. One will be elegant and pretty (for me), and one will be short and shaggy (for him). That pretty much describes our current pets, so I think we’re all set!

Mrs. Labrador - Luckily, Mr. Lab and I have the exact same love of animals. Moreover, we have the same love of certain types of animals. We currently own 3 Labrador Retrievers. One was his before we met (Dixie, yellow), one was a gift from him our second Christmas together (Madie, black), and the last one we sort of adopted from my little brother when he could no longer take care of her (Gabby, chocolate). We hope to own a big enough home one day to never have to worry about taking in dogs. We were *thisclose* to picking up a linen-colored Lab a few weeks ago at a “Forgotten Friends” event being held at my university. The ONLY thing keeping us from doing it was not having enough room for our 3 fur babies as is.

My babies brought me wine (purchased by Dixie I’m sure, since the other two were underage!) and a balloon on Valentine’s Day! They’re so thoughtful!

Mrs. Glitter - We have one dog together, Emma. She is our spoiled child. She was a gift from Mr. G when we first started dating. Mr. G also loves fish, and we have two small aquariums at home. We both love animals; although Mr. G is very allergic to cats. We’d like to get at least one more dog. We aren’t in agreement about breed. He has always wanted a big dog… more of a “manly”-type tough dog. I wouldn’t mind another small/medium size doggy. Despite our differing opinions, we both agree that we likely won’t get another pup until we have a bigger place to live.

Mrs. Snow Pea - Mr. Snow Pea was the one who wanted a dog and I was anti-pets. I never grew up with pets so I didn’t understand the obsession people had with their pets. I don’t like the dog smell, the food, the poops. I was still anti-pet until we began dog sitting. The joy and entertainment that the dogs brought to us convinced me! We went in search for a specific breed and found our Basil from The French Bulldog Rescue Network. Now, I’m all about our dog. He’s the love of our life!

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How do you and your SO feel about pets?