When you make the decision to bring a pet--dog or cat--into your family (or, they make the decision for you...), you realize there will be changes and adjustments, but you can't consider every change, every adjustment. Case in point...the house at Christmastime.
You don't know what things can stay the same and what needs to change.
For us, we had to make modifications to our tree and where we put the presents. For years we had cats and a small dog, Patch. Patch had long since not cared about the tree. It helped that she was almost blind for several years. We did have to be mindful of the cats, however. No matter how old they got, shiny ornaments and pretty lights fascinated the cats. We lost many a glass ornament at their hands...or, paws.
Then we got the standard poodle.
For the past couple of years we've had to re-arrange the front room, put the tree behind gates, and even put the tree upstairs where the dog had no access. Needless to say, we had to be careful of the presents. I don't know why, exactly, but this year we decided to try an experiment. We put things under the tree. Maybe it's because the dog has an entire house to explore, and because of that the cats don't have an entire house to explore...either way, so far our experiment has been successful. Everything's safe and untouched.
Looking back, we probably could have given the animals more of a benefit of the doubt, but at the time, we just weren't sure. Part of the reason is because the dog was younger--he's mellowed since then. We're grateful for that, at not just at Christmas.
Personally, I love seeing the presents--they're a symbol of how blessed we are. Part of those blessings are having pets living with us, pets who thankfully are leaving things alone...at least, so far.
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