Six years ago the Husband (who was then the fiancé) and I were living in Carnarvon, a regional town in the outback of Australia. I had received my first teaching post in this coastal community three years before and after a six month long distance relationship the Husband-to-be took a gamble on love and moved to Carnarvon to be with me.
We started a family of fur kids in Carnarvon. There had always been cats in the house as I was growing up and I was given my first cat for my 12th birthday. When I moved away from home for the first time to go to Carnarvon I didn't have a cat to take with me, so a few days after I'd arrived in the town I went looking for a puppy, only to end up with a cat; a rather surly, slightly overweight grey tabby, who I named Falcon. About a month later I acquired another cat, Serendipity, a little bobtailed tortishell who'd been living rough in the school garden. So I was becoming a bit of a cat lady at this point but I was enjoying having furry bodies to share my little home with.
When the Husband-to-be joined me he saw the move as an opportunity to branch out into pet ownership himself. He was moving out of a small studio apartment which he shared with an axolotl (Mexican walking fish) and saw the change as a chance to become a dog owner for the first time in his adult life. After visiting a couple of dog shelters a Rottweiler German Shepard cross named Tanka chose him to be his new owner. A few months later Tank was joined by Badger, a rotti staffy cross puppy. Our fur family was complete.
When we were planning our return to Perth six years ago, we'd decided for several reasons that we would purchase our own home. The long term financial security was the main reason, but in the short term we were looking for a home for our fur family. Although we'd been allowed to keep our reticulation eating, carpet scratching fur-kids in our government rental in the country, we doubted the generosity of private landlords back in the big city. So a home we searched for.
With the help of a buyers agent we found our little piece of suburban paradise and purchased it sight unseen at a slightly inflated price (it just so happened that we were buying at the peak of a massive property boom). We'd become home owners and had ourselves a little 3 by 1 in the suburbs of Perth with a decent size back yard for our dogs.
Over the years our family has changed. We still have fur kids, but now our real kids, born and unborn, are the love of our lives. Since we returned from Carnarvon both of the cats have passed away and we had to re-home Badger because he and Tanka were no longer buddies. Late last year after the death of Serendipity we adopted a pair of ginger tabby brothers, Jupiter and Bird, from the Cat Haven. A few weeks ago we let our old man Tanka go to doggy heaven after he was found to have a large abdominal tumour. We're still reeling from his death. I expect to see his happy dance every time the I arrive home and I'm still saddened by the realisation he will dance no more. I miss you big dog.
But every cloud has a silver lining and as a born optimist I always look for the hint of sparkle in the shittiest of situations. Although our initial reason for a house with a yard was for our dogs, the Bright Spark now for the first time has an access all areas outdoor playroom. Tanka was a big boof head of a dog and could easily have knocked our little man over in a fit of excitement, so contact between the two was limited and supervised. Our fur child would be inside when the Bright Spark was playing outside. The lawn usually had a few doggy-landmines to dodge and the water bucket was always a source of cold wet mess which our son was drawn to.
Since Tanka went the great kennel in the sky the Bright Spark has had unlimited access to what is now his yard. A place where I don't care about mess, where he can run and yell. A place where he can explore and be creative without mummy listening for signs of mischief all the time. His trike has been a fire truck, a dump truck and a cement mixer over the course of the week. His cubby is a shop, a house or a sailing ship, whatever fits the game of the moment. The other night after arriving home close to sunset he insisted I help him into a jumper so he could spend the last half hour of sunlight outside. I eventually had to call him in when I could no longer see him playing as it was too dark.
At a time when he is about to undergo the big change of becoming a big brother, this new found freedom is giving him a space of his own. We have plans to get another dog, a female golden retriever if I get my
way (too many boys in the house already). But with a newborn due in the
house any minute and the budget tight new puppy is a plan for the
future. So for now the backyard is the Kingdom of the Bright Spark and he is enjoying being the King of all he surveys.
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