From Mr. Widgets Perspective

I (notice I'm not using 'we") adopted a lovely friend from the SHHS this past February and found that as much as I loved her, realized that the situation wasn't ideal. Our male standard poodle thought of her as prey and spent a great deal of his day figuring out how to capture her. His behavior made it literally impossible to relax-for everyone involved. Because of this, and wanting to do the right thing, I released her from her solitude in the basement to a cool couple who bonded instantly with her.

I adopted her originally because she was so effervescently friendly and gorgeous. She wanted nothing more than to sit on your lap and be stroked, loved and adored. Jackson, our poodle, wanted nothing of this and made it known that under no certain circumstances would this be tolerated. He barked so loudly and endlessly that it was so tense around here that it could be cut with a knife.

So, I did what felt like the right thing and began looking, quietly, for a new home. One of my new customers told me that her daughter was looking and I called her, she came two days later with hubby in tow and Shazam-instant love. On both Karma's and the Clark's part.

But I forgot one small thing.

Mr. Widget.

Our resident cat who also took a shine to her and I enjoyed seeing the relationship grow from snarls to love and exuberant playtime. Even though she lived in our basement, she wasn't alone-she had the best company with her boyfriend Mr. Widget. They did a lot of things together, but Mr. Widget couldn't protect her from the big brown beast living upstairs.

Never for one second did I consider Mr. Widgets feelings. Here, he had a friend, the same species and the same habits, and had formed a bond with her. Selfishly, I had taken that friend away from him. Now I question if I did the right thing or not. For the overall energy in the family, yes, but today, I see Mr. Widget not being himself. Clearly, he is depressed. He's been sleeping all day and Mr. Widget is generally the first out and the last one in. Go figure.

Advice. Consider the entire family before acting. There are bonds we, as humans don't see, but when they are no longer there, they are as plain as day.