Bad influence?

A friend called me on Friday to see if I would go with her and her daughters to the Animal Shelter to "look at" the animals. The girls have been begging for a pet for a loooonnnng time. She wanted me along to help her be strong. I told her that if they went and looked at potential pets it would be hard to come home without one. I did agree to go, but secretly, I knew I would be little help, since I am a sucker for cats and dogs.

When we arrived at the shelter, we checked out the dogs first -- the medium-to-large ones. There was much barking going on, and the youngest daughter clapped her hands over her ears for the duration. We took a couple out on a "walk" in the parking lot and decided that they were just to rambunctious.

Next we tried the small-to-medium dogs. They weren't quite as loud (because there were fewer of them), but the girls didn't see any they were interested in.

We then looked at the cats. They were nice and quiet (score 1 for the cats). One by one, we took nearly every one out of his or her cage. We all liked a small gray female, and when I picked her up, I thought to myself, "I wonder if she is pregnant?". When the Shelter employee returned, we asked about the cat because there was no information posted on the cage. She looked it up and determined it was a stray, so no info was available. She then picked up her and said, "Oh, this one is pregnant!" (Apparently that had not been noticed previously). She was a very sweet cat, did not seem nervous that we were handling her, and seemed to be shedding far less than the others. So...she came home with us.

Guess what the first joke of the day was? My friend called her husband at work and told him that they were sheltering an unwed mother.

If anyone asks my friend, she will say that it is MY fault they now own a cat. All I did was point out how sweet and calm she was. Sheesh. She really is lovely little cat - very affectionate and a purring machine. I think they are going to call her "Nudge" because she frequently comes up and nudges you with her head to send the universal "Please pet me NOW" signal.

Here's the second joke of the day. The woman at the shelter guessed that the cat will deliver in a couple of weeks. Not long after we got the cat home, it occurred to me that in two weeks my friend and her husband will be out of town for a weekend and I will be staying with their children (and now their cat) while they are gone. I'm guessing the odds are very good that the kittens will arrive on MY WATCH.

On a related theme, my parents are test-driving two 3-year old golden retrievers this weekend to see if they want to keep them. I suspect they will. Harveys are suckers for cats and dogs...All of 'em have pets except for me.

Why am I holding out? Two reasons.
1) I don't like cleaning up after them
2) A couple of close friends are highly allergic to furry animals (husbands excepted) and I don't want them to be uncomfortable in my home.

So, for now, I will have to get my pet therapy when I visit my friends and family.