Celebrating National Pet Parents Day!

Dawn with husband Dale, and Murphy (white) and Jesse (black and white).

Today, Sunday, April 28th,is National Pet Parents Day, and all of us at Milwaukee Paws Pet Care know what a gift it is to be a parent to such amazing animals we bring into our homes and our lives. We give so much of ourselves to our pets, and our homes and lives wouldn’t be the same without them. Our pets truly become a part of our family, and since we feel this is such a special bond and relationship to celebrate, we want to share a few stories with you about a few of our own pets and animals at Milwaukee Paws Pet Care!

Dawn is the owner of Milwaukee Paws Pet Care.          

I volunteered at the Humane society as a dog walker in 2013.  I already owned a Great Dane, Jesse, and was not looking for a new dog.  One Saturday, I took my husband to the Humane Society to show him some really cute beagle puppies that were up for adoption.  We walked past the cage of a dog that was laying on his bed, looking sad (as many dogs at the shelter do).  For some reason, this particular dog tugged at my husband’s heartstrings and he asked if we could see that dog.

Murphy with his Daddy, Dale!

We were told that this particular dog was deaf and had been at the Humane society for a while.  The staff let us into his suite, and immediately the pup crawled into Dale’s lap and started wagging his tail so hard that his entire body wiggled.  That was it; Dale was sold and was not leaving there without this pup.

Here is a video from the Humane Society featuring Murphy before we adopted him!

We spoke with staff and learned that he had been at the shelter a while; he was deaf and had been returned four times between January and June. He was even featured on Channel 6 as a dog of the week! I knew that we could not let him stay there, so we went home, loaded up our Great Dane and brought him back to meet Murphy.

I wouldn’t say that Murphy and Jesse were a match in heaven.  To be honest, Jesse was eight years old and dealing with many health issues. Murphy was under a year, and his exuberance and energy was not appreciated by Jesse.  Murphy had a lot of energy and was very anxious, but he loved Jesse more than we expected.  He followed Jesse everywhere, and soon learned when to keep his distance.  Murphy was crated during the day and Jesse was not, but most days, when I got home, Jesse was laying outside of Murphy’s crate comforting him and keeping him company.

Murphy enjoying cuddles with Dawn!

Murphy’s love for life and sheer happiness filled our home.  His antics keep us on our toes to this day!  If we leave our bathroom doors open, we can expect that he will decorate our house by grabbing the end of the toilet paper roll and running through our home- leaving a trail of TP behind him! Still, he greets us every day with the full body tail wag that we first fell in love with!

I think I understood how smart Murphy is when we were teaching him commands in ASL.  If he did not like what you were asking him, he would close his eyes and turn his head away!  He was smarter than anyone knew at the time!

Murphy has been in our home for 6 years, and to be honest, he has overcome a lot – anxiety, being deaf, separation anxiety and the loss of Jesse.  We put our sweet Jesse down about two years after Murphy joined our family.  Murphy grieved the loss of Jesse as hard as any of us. He pulled Jesse’s bed into his crate that first night and never really settled back into a routine until we moved downtown from the suburbs. Turns out Murphy is a cosmopolitan pooch!  He absolutely adores being downtown now!

Murphy enjoying life with his momma, Dawn!

I cannot imagine my life without this little bundle of nerves that is such a goofball!  Both Dale and I love him more every day!

Lora is a client of ours, and she and Hobbs are both a special part of our Milwaukee Paws Pet Care family.

A man I worked with at the 451st ESC (Army Reserve) in Wichita, KS was a cat rescuer. Anyone who found abandoned cats or who could no longer care for their cats called him. He had 19 cats when we visited about me getting a cat. After much thought I decided I would like to get one. I went to his farm and Hobbs was as wild as you can imagine. He roamed as he pleased and was not happy about getting put in a cat carrier and riding the hour to my house in the car. For the first three days he was allusive and only ventured out when I was at work or sleeping. By the end of the third day he started coming around. My daughter’s dog lived with me too, a 12-pound Shiffon, and since they were roughly the same size, became friends. Over time, Hobbs became the sweetest kitty. He amused and delighted all who met him by his silly antics, to include begging for a bite of pepperoni from a pizza, and butting their hand with his head when he wanted a whisker scratch. Hobbs is sweet, energetic, and intuitive. He is my companion and I am convinced his presence in my home is what brings all the positive energy. He makes me laugh by his playful antics such as, if I don’t get up in the morning with my alarm, he starts rubbing my face with his paw. He has trained me well! Hobbs is just a love bug and he makes my life richer.

Hobbs showing off his colorful nails!

Thank you, Lora, for allowing us to help care for Hobbs! We are grateful to be able to provide love and attention to him when you are not able to be there. Hobbs is a very special, sweet cat and we are so happy to have him a part of our Milwaukee Paws Family!

Heather is the Office Manager at Milwaukee Paws Pet Care.

Nala’s adoption photo from the Humane Society.

My husband and I got married in the summer of 2011; at the time, neither of us had any pets since we had just recently graduated from college where pets are pretty much impossible to have. However, I had previously owned cats ever since I was 12, and before that our family had owned dogs. When my now husband and I had met, he was made well aware of how much I loved animals and knew I insisted on owning at least one as soon as we would be able to! Well, a few months after we got married, I began begging to him that it was time to bring a pet into our home! He had grown up on a dairy farm, and all of the pets he had had growing up were outdoor pets, so having a pet inside our home was a new, unwelcome concept to him, but he knew I was going to win this one. I began looking on local humane society websites, and after a few evenings spent looking, I saw her. “Morticia” was the name the Society had given her; I already knew I wasn’t fond of the name, but I sure was fond of her! She was the tiniest, sweetest looking fluff ball of fur I had ever seen. When I reached out about her, the Humane Society let us know she was currently “on display” at a local PetSmart. So, we headed there as soon as we could as I hoped she would still be there. When I walked in the store and saw her curled up in her tiny cage, I knew she was coming home with us. The staff alerted us that she was feral and had been found abandoned and alone underneath someone’s porch. This tiny, scared kitten at only 8 weeks old had previously been nearly unapproachable, and they weren’t sure she would even warm up to humans. I didn’t care and insisted we would give her the love and patience she would need. It wasn’t long and we were able to take her to her forever home. We did feel Morticia was a bit too morbid for her sweet, loving personality we learned she had, so we quickly changed her name to Nala.

Nala relaxing in her new forever home just a few days after adoption!

A few months after bringing Nala home, we decided we wanted to give her a sibling, so we went to the Milwaukee Humane Society to see if we could find her a companion. We spent a bit of time with each of the cats they had there, and we quickly became drawn to “Rue,” a cute black and white girl who had been given up after her family had decided their small children weren’t ready to have pets in the home just yet. We gave her some love when we met her, and she curled right up on my lap; I was sold. While I was hesitant how Nala would do with a new cat in the home, we were taught by the humane society how to safely and slowly introduce Rue to her new surroundings while keeping Nala’s comfort in mind. After about three weeks, the two of them were best friends, and we knew Rue had also found her forever home with us.

Nala trying to cuddle one of her new humans!

We’ve also been lucky that these felines have taken quite the liking to our three little kiddos we have running around, now! About a year and a half after adding these sweet cats to our family, we had our first child. I can remember back to when I was pregnant and Nala would come up and cuddle on my belly. I swear she knew I was growing a future sibling of hers in there, and she would hold so tightly yet gently to my body when she’d cuddle with me! My husband and I worried slightly about how the cats would do once he was actually born, but both Nala and Rue continued to be gentle and seemed to know their boundaries with the baby. Nala was a bit more curious and would often look concerned when the baby would cry, whereas Rue would go find a quiet place to rest whenever things got a little chaotic and loud. A year later, I was expecting twins, and again, Nala would find a comfortable place right by my tummy to rest and find comfort. After they were born, she’d often find a spot on the floor to rest and watch them as they rested or played. It was heartwarming to see her “protect” and watch over them.

Rue and all the toys in our home fit together just fine!

While Rue isn’t as much of a cuddler as Nala has always been, Rue loves to play little games with the kids and let them chase her. Rue will move just far enough away to keep them running and chasing, until Rue finds a small, discrete place they can’t reach. Then Rue will come back out to let them approach her, and start all over again!  Whenever the kids are gone for a day or two visiting grandparents and such, they will come back home saying how excited they are to see Nala and Rue again!

Rue being playful!

Looking back, almost 8 years later after bringing Nala and Rue into our family, we feel pretty lucky to have these two sweet lovable cats and we couldn’t be more thankful for the joy, fun, and sweet love these two felines bring into our entire family! Even my husband who had previously never wanted cats has found his own appreciation for the fun and energy they bring to our home. We couldn’t imagine our lives without them!

If you have a special story about you and your pets that you’d like to share, we would love to hear it! The relationships you’ve created with your beloved pets deserve to be celebrated, and we love learning more about the pets and clients we serve! Feel free to reach out to us, or email dawn@milwaukeepawspetcare.com.

Our lives have been enriched and brightened by the presence of our own beloved pets at home, but we are also so humbled to be able to go to “work” and care for your special pets. They are a part of your families, and we are so thankful to all of you for opening up your homes and becoming a part of our Milwaukee Paws Family.

If you are not currently a client of ours but are in need of some extra care and attention for your beloved pets, please reach out today! We are dedicated to providing the highest quality pet care in the comfort of your own home, and we look forward to helping make a positive impact on yours and your pets’ lives. From all of us at Milwaukee Paws Pet Care, we wish you a happy National Pet Parents Day!