Our first furchild

We have added to our little family! Meet Gustavo ('Gus'). He is a 2-year old Himalayan that we adopted last Friday. He is so sweet!


Since our first date, Jason has known that I love cats and dogs and wanted to have them in the future. I wanted one right when we got married but we had fun being newlyweds and then focused on school for a couple of years. So after 5 years I finally got the green light to start looking for a pet!

Last year Jason worked for PetSmart and it really opened our eyes to how important animal rescue shelters are. I had always thought they were for pets that were sick, old or a little wild, I had no idea that was not the case. Most of these pets grew up in normal homes but were abandoned because they couldn't afford them anymore. Even if you want a kitten or a puppy there are always several options. It is so heartbreaking to see these abandoned pets that really want a family to be with.

Gus was purchased from a breeder and lived with a family for two years but they couldn't take care of him anymore. My family had two Himalayans before and I love their personality and how they look. So I have been keeping an extra eye out for them in the adoption centers. When I saw him my heart jumped and I knew he was for us! The whole family went to the shelter to meet him and help me get ready to take him home. He walked right up to us and when we held him he just purred and rubbed his head on our arms. He even kept his paw on Dad's hand while he took him out to the car, haha.

These two are best buds.

He made himself at home immediately, I was completely expecting some adjustment time but he didn't take any! He still has a lot of playfulness like a kitten but is 100% trained as well- the perfect balance. I'm sure the vet is going to have me put him on a diet- he is HUGE! I love how soft and big he is though.

His favorite toy.

I could write a novel about supporting local animal shelters but I'll summarize it to three things that are so easy to do. I wish I would have known about this a long time ago.

1. Several grocery stores donate a percentage of your purchases to a local animal shelter. In Houston I know that Kroger and Randalls participate. (Kroger= Smiths in Utah and Randalls= Safeway in the West) All you need to do is give your grocery savers card to the customer service desk and add the shelter to it. You don't pay anything for it, you just need to be signed up and the store will donate part of your purchase instead of using all of it for their company.

2. Many animal shelters are run purely by volunteers and aren't connected with the government, so they run on donations only. They need a lot of things, old and new. Some examples of old things: towels, blankets, bowls, toys. They also need donations of big things (used or new) such as washers and dryers, computers, printers, copy machines, etc. They also need cat and dog food, paper towels, cat litter, etc.

3. Volunteer work. There are so many opportunities. They need people to help walk the dogs. PetSmart sets up a station at a popular jogging trail here where joggers can take a dog with them on their run and return them (or adopt them!) on their way back to their car. They also need help with adoption days, data entry, taking pictures of the pets for their online posting, feeding and playing with the pets, etc.