Weddingbee Blog

(Title pilfered from one of my favorite short story collections…and if anyone knows it, we are instant beffies.)

In a weird way, our marriage began with this thing:

A 10 year-old (now almost 13!), 3-legged cat named Hazel.

Parents of human babies will probably laugh at this…but adopting Hazel made us feel like a family instead of a couple. When we got her, we’d already been together almost 6 years, but something is different when you share the responsibility of a living creature…especially one who was still healing from a traumatic accident and surgery. Watching my long-beloved boyfriend pace the vet’s waiting room, doze off with the cat curled up on his stomach, coo at her in a baby voice when he thinks I’m asleep…well, I fell in love with him in a whole new way.

In the midst of our engagement, we adopted a dog of our very own.

Meet Winston Churchill: 4 years old, 26 pounds, 4 ounces.

Quiet as a mouse, paws two sizes too big for his body, and blinded by cloudy cataracts. He owned me, completely, from first glance. I felt like our love doubled, again, after he came to live with us. Even the occasional trials of having a pet help as grow as a couple.

I think you can learn a thing or two about marriage from owning a pet. As far as I can tell, our pets don’t understand promises or apologies or sweet nothings. They also doesn’t expect much: just to be loved and cared for, even in the simplest of ways. Maybe our relationships could be enriched by taking the approach we take with our furbabies. Forget intentions, complications, forget the words that we say: what do we do?

*I’d like to note that these two incredibly loving pets are adopted from shelters. If you are considering a new pet, please consider if a rescue pet could be right for you. They have so much love to give, and our little family is a testimony to that.

Did pets help you bond as a couple? Are you kind of obsessed with you furbabies like we are? Tell me about them!