Before school started this fall, we made our kids a terrible, misguided, poorly thought out deal.  We told them if they all made straight A’s at semester, we’d get a puppy.  They have been begging for a dog for YEARS and finally we thought we’d consider it.

First of all this deal was awful, because everyone wanted a puppy except for me.  All of my kids have high IQs and were motivated very much by a puppy.  So bad result #1, they get straight As, earn a puppy, and leave me to care for it while they are at school.  (Which would be fine for a few weeks, but long term would be very stressful for me.)

Bad result #2.  My daughter with learning disabilities is working her tail off for a puppy and earning straight Cs.  It’s the best she can do with the mis-wiring she has in her brain, even though her IQ puts her in the gifted range.  It is possible that everyone will earn the puppy except for her, and there’s not one thing she can do about it.   According to our agreement, she could blow the puppy deal for the whole family and bear the guilt and shame on top of everything else she’s dealing with.

We either get a puppy—bad, or don’t get a puppy—BAD!  This is why I should THINK before making stupid deals with my kids.  Good Parenting 101:  Give your kids choices when either option is a win.  There was no possibility of a winner here.

I can’t tell you how many hours I laid awake thinking about this terrible situation and how to fix it and stay consistent with our promises.  I knew I had to get an animal in our house some way that would negate the deal and make this ok.  To make the situation a little more challenging, my special girl has on-going medical expenses that I need to save an extra $200 a month for.  With our new budget, pet food and vet bills aren’t a possibility.  Gah!  What was I thinking?

I went to the local animal shelter website just to see what foster care was all about.  Turns out it’s amazing.  Our shelter only fosters infant animals or high medical need animals, and it’s usually a 1-3 week commitment until adoption. They provide all the medical care, food, and accessories.  We provide the love.  Since we aren’t trained properly for high medical needs, we’re on the infant only list.  I filled out my application one night and the next morning, got a call to come pick up a litter of kittens.  Kittens!!!!!

Abandoned infant animals are a little challenging.  There might be fleas to combat, toilet training, and minor health challenges like loose stools from abrupt diet changes.  But oh my!  They are so cute and snuggly and fluffy and adorable.  It’s so worth it.

These kittens will be available for adoption at some point and prospective parents might meet them at our home.  When they are adopted, we’ll be available to foster someone else.  It might be more kittens, puppies or even a rabbit.  I can handle the care for a few weeks and take a break when necessary. The kids help out when they are home and have a lot of the benefits of pet ownership without the long term commitment.  Now that’s a win-win.