Hey Meg,

I can't give you an honest opinion until I see a picture of the kitty first! Hey is it true that losing a pet is just as bad as losing a family member? I'm planning on buying a teacup yorkie, but I hear that teacups are known to have a plethora of health complications.

That's true, especially with this kitten. He is white with black markings all over, even on his face. I think the obvious name for this cat is Bandit because his white face has a black mask. But, as I said, that's too obvious. I'll take pictures as soon as I get a battery for the camera. My son will put them on the computer from work as he did the pctures of the kids at the aquarium.

Speaking of those pictures, the blue one that I posted first is my background on this computer and it looks 100 times better than it did on the other PC. When I get the camera working, I'll take a picture of it, too.

As to your question about losing a pet, I think it's comparable to losing a family member in a lot of ways. First, my dog was old and in pain. I found her tied to a tree, all emaciated, starving and with patches of no hair. She was so close to death that I think the year and a half that I had her was all icing for her, she was obviously going to die within hours if I hadn't brought her home. She had a year and a half of good life that she almost didn't get at all. I don't know what happened to her before I found her and I wondered often about what she had been through and how she ended up like she was. She must have suffered a lot before I found her and I think that the time she gave to me was a bonus that I was lucky to have had. Maggie was a sweetheart, she loved people, she was a gentle giant and she never hurt a soul. She patiently put up with Payton and his annoying attempts to play with her. So, as when my great-grandfather died at 97, we were just lucky to have had them for as long as we did so their passing wasn't as bad as it could have been.

When my cat, Lucy, died, I was upset for months. She was only a few months old and was the smartest cat I have ever seen in my life. She could learn tricks in 15 minutes and she adored learning new stuff. She had a personality that would have turned the staunchest cat hater into a cat lover. Rick adored her as well, you couldn't have helped but love that cat. My son teased her a bit so she would tease him back. He would be sitting on the couch and she would come out of nowhere, scratch his legs and then be gone before he could say, "OUCH!" When she died like she did (in a dreadful dryer incident) I kept thinking that she wondered where I was and why I didn't help her. She was my cat and that was her decision, not anyone elses. She slept under the blankets by my feet and never wondered far from me.

Like a family that loses someone while they're young, I was upset because it just wasn't right, we had so much fun to look forward to. I cried for weeks and even now, I don't want to know where she's buried because it's just too upseting.

Of course, they aren't people and it would be sacreligious to compare them to people, but a lot of it is very similar. Of course, some pets are better friends than some people and in some circumstances, the loss is felt much more deeply because the pet is the happiest part of someone's life. When you've raised a pet from a puppy, you have a feeling towards them as strong as any that you have towards people. But, once again, it really isn't right to compare them to people. It's more the loss of the happiness that you mourn and I still mourn the loss of Lucy and the potential happiness that she would have given me.

As to your other concern, the health problems and the worry that you would lose the animal after you've fallen in love with him or her, yes it's worth it. We can't avoid the chance to make an animal happy or the happiness that they bring to us out of fear of the pain that we would feel when they leave us. If we did that we would deny ourselves happiness that we deserve to have. Loss is part of life and if you avoid life out of fear of loss, you won't even have the fun and happiness that you fear losing. That love and joy is worth the loss, in my humble opinion.

If you can afford to care for the potential health problems that the dog might have, by all means, go get that puppy. Don't worry about what you might lose, you already don't have anything. At least if you have the dog for a while, you will give yourself a few years of happiness. Your heart was made to give away, to keep it to yourself is a waste of all the love you have to give. Yes, I think it's worth it. When any of us bring a pet home, we know that we won't have them forever. Chances are we will outlive most of our pets and bury a few of them but what fun they bring to our lives! I still remember pets that I had as long ago as the 60's.

I bring animals home because of all the love that they have to give. I may lose them, I may not be around long enough to lose them. But for now, I have them. There isn't much sweeter than a baby, whatever kind of baby it is. There's a reason that people have been bringing animals into their lives for thousands of years. Every pet that I've ever had has touched my life in a special way. I wouldn't change that for the world.

Meg