Blended Families include Pets!

I know this isn't art or mental health related, but something I was thinking about when I was walking our "step" dog earlier. We have a blended family, but ours is especially unique. Most people don't get along with their exes. I was with my ex for 13 years and things got really ugly in the divorce. Thankfully I don't ever hear from her anymore. The sad part is our daughter lives with her who is now an adult and doesn't really talk to me either. I'm not going to go too much into all that is that could be a whole series of blog entries.

My wife and her ex get along ok. For the sake of the kids they wanted to keep things amicable. The kids are all over 18 now, but they are still in communication and still get along fine. I always got along ok with him because he's never caused any problem for me. Once again, I love my step kids, and they love their dad so I'd have to be a real shithead to be a dick to their dad just to make myself feel better, which it wouldn't anyway.

Our home has three cats. We had dogs for years, but they were all older and over the past few years are all gone now. Being we are getting older we decided to rescue some cats as they are easier to take care of among other reasons. Cats don't eat as much for one.

So my wife's ex had to go into the hospital recently with some health issues, but he has a little wiener dog mix, who is a very friendly well behaved dog. We took her in while he's laid up. Apparently some people think its very odd that I'm ok with this. For one, I like the dog, she's sitting by my leg propped up against me now on the couch as we speak. She's easy to take care of and lets us know anytime she needs to go out and doesn't really bark much.

Our cats DO NOT like her. They don't fight with her. They mostly sit off to the side and give her really evil stares. My one cat, Loki gave me an evil stare this morning as if to say "Why did you bring that THING into this house?" He's fine though. The animals pretty much ignore each other. I'm not sure how long our new houseguest will be staying, but she can stay for however long.

So, thats why I titled this blog what I did. We're a blended family, but that includes taking in an ex's pet if the pet needs taking care of. I know everyone's family dynamics are different, so you have to do what you feel is best in your situation. I just wish more people, my own ex included would think of the kids before making choices out of anger or vindictiveness. I treat my step kids as if they were my own, so I put them first when making decisions and always looking to protect them from anything that may cause harm or distress. That includes helping with their dad's doggo.