[speaker002:] well uh Cathy do you have any pets in your home
[speaker001:] we do actually we have a a Golden Retriever a dog and we have a cat and we have we just got two um
[speaker002:] how nice um-hum
[speaker001:] Russian Dwarf hamsters which dwarf hamsters lucky us huh
[speaker002:] dwarf hamsters how big is a dwarf hamster
[speaker001:] real small they're maybe about oh two inches long they're real small they're real tiny they're cute they really are cute
[speaker002:] yeah my goodness where did you get those
[speaker001:] uh my son's baseball coach uh had two and then had multiple hamsters that he was trying to get rid of
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] and so that's that's where we got them from now we've been assured they're both males and they're in two separate cages so we don't want any
[speaker002:] well okay I was going to say that
[speaker001:] we don't want to go into the dwarf hamster business
[speaker002:] oh
[speaker001:] how about you
[speaker002:] well right now we don't have any pets we've uh we've tried various things we you know obviously do have children
[speaker001:] uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker002:] and uh we tried a dog first and we had a a puppy a uh a what did they call him a Westie
[speaker001:] uh-huh is uh is are they very small uh-huh
[speaker002:] they're small uh-huh it's a terrier and uh that didn't work out very well
[speaker001:] oh uh-huh
[speaker002:] and uh for a variety of reasons but the the dog was just all mouth and teeth it seemed like the only way it could of show affection was by nibbling you on things
[speaker001:] oh really yeah oh no kidding uh-huh
[speaker002:] yeah so it it never worked out and uh so we we have we gave up on that and then we tried cats
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and we ended up with a a bad set of cats if that's possible but I'm a I'm a big fan of cats I always had cats growing up
[speaker001:] oh um-hum are you yeah
[speaker002:] and uh my wife on the other hand was not a fan of cats at all but we had these two that they we knew someone that uh uh you know wanted to get rid of these kittens and
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] uh so we gave it a try and uh they were impossible to house train
[speaker001:] really boy that's real unusual for cats usually you just put down a litter box and that's the end of that yeah
[speaker002:] that's the end of that and these it was real strange and uh they were both solid white cats
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and uh one had blue eyes and the other had white regular you know yellow eyed cats
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] brothers and sisters and we had them declawed and we had them neutered and uh invested all all that money in it into it but uh we simply one of them in particular we just could not uh train to use we tried different types of litter changed it frequently and it was just unbelievable
[speaker001:] really really huh huh oh
[speaker002:] and so we finally found someone else that was willing to to to give it a try with them
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and sure enough it it worked worked worked for a little while and then they too couldn't seem to get them to use the litter box
[speaker001:] really really hum
[speaker002:] uh so they ended up finding someone else that was willing to give it a try and that's when I lost track of these two cats
[speaker001:] yeah really yeah yeah oh that's too bad
[speaker002:] yeah that was that was pretty sad because uh it took a lot of lobbying just to get the cats in the house to begin with so we sure couldn't make another try at it
[speaker001:] sure sure sure yeah yeah well we were real fortunate with our pets um when my husband and I were getting married we we had both been married before and so we were blending families and we had taken this blended families course through uh P I S T you know they how they have the effective parent parent training effectiveness effectiveness training
[speaker002:] hum right right
[speaker001:] and uh so we took a blended families course and Linda Hitt the person who was teaching the course said sometimes when you have children on this side and children on this side you have a you know a mutual child that brings the family together and we looked at each other and laughed and said we'll get a dog and uh
[speaker002:] yeah I bet that's funny
[speaker001:] and uh so we I had always wanted a Golden Retriever I just think they're real neat dogs that that's a nice breed you know they're real calm and gentle and and whatnot so my husband thought well for Christmas he was going to surprise me with a puppy and he was looking around for a puppy and then um he saw he decided just on a whim I think I'll call the SPCA
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and he called the Dallas SPCA and he said you wouldn't happen to have a Golden Retriever would you and they said you won't believe it but we had one dropped off last night
[speaker002:] good grief
[speaker001:] and he'd they said he's AKC registered he's two years old and he's going to go fast
[speaker002:] I'll bet yeah
[speaker001:] so we thought okay what's wrong with this dog who would give up a two year old Golden Retriever you know that's a nice dog something's got to be wrong with this dog
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] nothing is wrong with it we have had him now for three years and just love him to death he is wonderful yeah he is he's a great dog he's he's
[speaker002:] well that's great
[speaker001:] he makes a real lousy uh watchdog though because he he just loves everybody and he wags his tail and you know he's he's great he's great we just we think he's wonderful and our cat just kind of you know pays us the time of day when he's in the mood and otherwise we don't see him
[speaker002:] yeah is it primarily outdoor cat then or just
[speaker001:] yeah he is he comes in and he goes out he's he kind of
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] you know is just around we we don't really don't see him except for feeding time you know or when he wants when he's in the mood for a little affection
[speaker002:] that's interesting he'll show up huh
[speaker001:] he'll show up yeah yeah but so that's our family and we just you know uh everybody seems to get along real well the kids the dog and the cat so we're okay
[speaker002:] um-hum great
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] well has the cat discovered the uh the hamsters yet
[speaker001:] the hamsters actually it's the dog that is enthralled with the hamsters because the hamsters are recent you know they were just last week
[speaker002:] oh
[speaker001:] and the first night we had them somebody knocked over the cage and we thought it was the cat we really did we blamed the cat and we thought the hamster had disappeared and had been eaten but we found him he he just he narrowly escaped with his life but he was found
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] but since then we have discovered the dog sits and watches them for hours on end
[speaker002:] oh my goodness
[speaker001:] you know they'll get going in the little wheel and he'll sit there and just stare at them so I'm wondering now if it really was the cat who knocked them off the shelf it might have been it might have been the dog
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] but the cat doesn't seem to be too bothered with them it's it's the dog that just sits there for hour after hour and watches these hamsters it's it's funny
[speaker002:] I'll be and my sister has tried that with both hamsters gerbils and small birds
[speaker001:] yeah yeah uh-huh
[speaker002:] and it's amazing what their cat has been able to do
[speaker001:] really
[speaker002:] I think that pretty much over time has figured out a way to get those small creatures
[speaker001:] out really
[speaker002:] eventually to get them out to get the cage down from wherever it is even if it's the top of the refrigerator
[speaker001:] yeah uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker002:] to get that cage down and into it somehow
[speaker001:] yeah yeah well we warned them you the kids you know we said you know with the cat in the house you know these may not last too long
[speaker002:] um-hum is that right
[speaker001:] but he doesn't seem to be bothered with them you know he's real content you know chasing flies and birds outside so you know he's he's not too bad
[speaker002:] um-hum yeah
[speaker001:] but so are you going to try again with another cat sometime
[speaker002:] well I would like to we shall see I want it to be a you know indoor outdoor animal next time
[speaker001:] yeah yeah
[speaker002:] and uh