Although I never think of animals as "substitutes" for kids, I'm a huge animal lover! I grew up with dogs, horses, cats, fish, birds, etc.
However, since DH and I both work a lot of hours and like to take off at a moment's notice, we decided to keep our "family" to just us and one cat (Tinker). As much as I'd love to get her a buddy, I'm not sure she would be accepting of that, and DH is not in favor of it. She is a wonderful, affectionate kitty who has such a great personality. She's been with us for 11 years and still acts like a kitten.
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