Let’s start out this post with three collages that my wife made a year before her death. She spent hours arranging and re-arranging the photos of all the pets in our married life to make them just right. I now have them all on my cozy apartment walls. Now to the purpose of this post.
I live in a one-bedroom apartment here at my retirement community home. It is on the second floor of a multi-winged building. Although they allow pets below 20 lbs here, I knew how unrealistic that would be for me. So, I was resolved to being without a pet for the first time in 50 years!
The only pet we had when my life radically changed five months ago was a cat we rescued from the county humane society ten years before. I didn’t believe that I would ever find a home for him. But, it turned out that our next door neighbor (a quarter-mile away) who took care of him when we went on vacations, eagerly wanted him. So now he has a new family but pretty much in the same area. That makes me feel good.
What didn’t make me feel good was the thought that I would never have another pet. They were such an important part of my life, It saddened me to imagine that. But, then I found out I did have pets here, well, sort of.
As mentioned before, I usually do two to three walks a day on the 2/3 mile path around the complex. During those walks, I regularly come across several dog-walkers. I always stop to give the dogs a little scratch behind the ear and just say hello. I know they aren’t mine, but I kinda feel a kinship to each of them. I am not without pets after all. 😁 That makes me happy.
RJ's Corner 
The animals that adopt us always seem the best.
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I love that thought. Thanks for putting it in my mind. 😁
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We lost our 13 yo dog last year, and while we have discussed another dog, we haven’t made that move yet. And TBH, I’m not sure we will. We both like larger dogs (labs to be precise) and neither of us feels ready to take on a puppy, although we met one on our walk in the neighborhood yesterday, and it was pretty tempting to find one of our own. But at our age, walking a dog in the winter weather here is kind of hazardous — our last dog was really strong and if he decided to take off on ice, it could get crazy fast. So we discuss, but nothing happens. Ha! We have a couple of grand dogs that visit periodically, so for now, that works for us. Glad you found some local pets to enjoy!
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My last dog was a 50 lb Basset Hound who loved to go on walks, but had to be on a leash when she left the yard. She died of cancer about 6 years ago, and we did not replace her for the very reasons you mention. I hate to say it, but she was my favorite of all our pets, so I’m not sure if she was even replaceable. 🥴
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I bet you have some neighbors who would love someone to walk their dog for them. Just a thought 😃
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Thanks for the suggestion, Barbie, and welcome to RJsCorner. That would be nice to have a dog to walk now and then. You are right there are a lot of people here who probably can’t do that now. I will have to keep and eye out for that. Thanks again.
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