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We're Amber & Josh.
We believe love is an adventure in itself, one worth celebrating authentically. That's why we specialize in elopements and intimate weddings for couples who dare to be different. As a couple who had a unique wedding day ourselves, it holds a special place in our hearts and we love helping couples create their own personal and authentic celebrations.

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#DateYourSpouse – Adopt A Pet

Date Your Spouse - Adopt A Pet by PMA Photography

This week’s #DateYourSpouse is not one I would suggest doing every date night.  (Or else you may end up being that crazy couple with ALL of the cats and/or dogs.)  But, I think it is a great date night, or nights depending on how you go about adopting you pet!

Both my husband and my childhood dogs passed a few years before we got our first place.  I had asked my dad repeatedly if I could get a cat, and he refused.  (I recently found out it is because the first cat we had when I was a toddler, Mosh (yes, my parent’s are that metal they named a cat Mosh), randomly attacked my dad while he was eating dinner.  He never liked cats after that.)  So, when we moved out my husbands first order of business was to get us a cat.  Honestly, I didn’t think I was ready with all the unpacking that we still needed to do.  But, he insisted!  So off we went to the Humane Society to meet the cats.

We looked at all the cats and read their descriptions (making sure they liked dogs as we were planning on getting a dog once we were more settled).  We then went into a room to meet the cats.  One completely ignored us and jumped in the hidey-hole.  Another clawed it’s way up my husband’s leg.  Then we met Bella.  She jumped up on my husband’s lap and laid down, we knew she was the one!  (To this day she still crawls in our laps when we are playing video games or watching TV.)  After we officially adopted Bella we spent a lot of time together taking her to the vet, brushing her, picking out cute cat toys, and playing with her.  I would say we got multiple date nights out of this adoption!

So that is the short story of how we got our beloved Bella.  Here are some tips for making a date out of an adoption of your own pet!

What Kind Of Pet?

I was really only thinking about cats and dogs when I first wrote this.  But you can adopt any number of animals.  Bunnies, Hamsters, Rats, Fish (ok, I don’t know if you can adopt fish, but you can buy them).  Talk to your spouse and decide which pet is best for you.  Also, you may want to talk about what size/breed is best for you.  For example, I am a pretty small lady and I wanted to be able to pick up any of our pets if needed.  So big dogs like Great Danes were out.  We decided to get medium sized dogs.

If you already have pets, consider what type of pet would work best in your house.  When we wanted to adopt a second dog, we knew we wanted another high energy dog that would be able to keep up with our Australian Shepard.  So we adopted a Border Collie.

Shelter or Rescue

Shelters have a mix of whatever is in at the moment, which means two things.  1. You have a greater chance of coming home with a pet that same day.  2. There is a good chance you will get a pet that is a mutt or a non-specific breed.  We went to a shelter to adopt our cat, and we love her dearly.

Rescues are generally breed specific.  So, if you are looking for a specific breed, this is your best bet.  However, it does generally take some time to adopt from a rescue.  There is an application process, sometimes a home inspection, and the pets are generally fostered in different homes so you won’t get to see all of them in one day.  We adopted our Border Collie, Fawkes, from a rescue, and we love her dearly.

Point is, each has its benefits, and in the end you will find a pet that you love dearly.

 

Shopping!

Make a date to go shopping for accessories for the pet!  If you don’t have any pets, there is quite a bit you will need.  If you do have pets, each one still needs their own tag, collar, etc.  Here are some things you may consider buying for your new pet:

  • Water/Food Bowl
  • Food
  • Collar
  • Tag
  • Leash/Harness (We got a harness for Bella and have never used it!)
  • Pet Carrier/Kennel
  • Toys
  • Treats
  • Cute Accessories
  • Pet Bed
  • Cat Tree

 

Have fun out there adopting, shopping for, and training/playing with your new pet together!  Want more date night ideas?  Check out my #DateYourSpouse series.

#DateYourSpouse

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