Around the time that we moved, we acquired an official pet. We weren’t intending to add a creature to our family, but he was in need of a new home, so we took him in. I guess you can say we adopted him.
Before I show you a picture, let me give a short backstory. Four years ago, when Mr. Handsome and I were still dating, his youngest sister, Lena, received a pet for her 11th birthday. Thinking he was a she, Lena named the pet Catherine the Great because his tail looked like the onion domes on Russian buildings.
Lena was excited about Catherine the Great (Catie G. for short) for a little while, but then the novelty wore off, and the poor thing just sat there on a counter in the corner of my in-laws’ kitchen, receiving very little attention. They tried to feed him, but he rarely ate anything. My mother-in-law claims that Lena had begged her for this pet, but Lena claims that she had wanted a furry pet.
One winter, Catie G. escaped from his cage and survived for two months in my in-laws’ home before someone found him sunbathing on a windowsill and returned him to his habitat. A year later, a gal who works at a pet store looked closely at Catie G’s feet and informed us that they had been chewed on, probably while he was loose. Yikes!
Well, Mr. Handsome, who always made a point of cleaning the cage whenever we visited, took pity on poor Catie G. While we were staying at my in-laws’ house for a friend’s wedding this summer, Mr. Handsome asked what I thought about taking Catie G. home with us. My husband has always had a thing for little creatures. (Someday, I’ll have to tell you about the various “pets” he had as a child.)
My first thought was to say no, but when I thought about the sad life that poor Catie G. was currently living, I decided to approve the adoption. At the end of the weekend, we loaded the little thing and his cage into our car, alongside our luggage, and headed home.
Three months later, and Ralph the leopard gecko has found his way into our hearts. (We nixed his feminine name when we found out that he was a he.) It has taken him a while to settle in, but he is doing very well. He eats and drinks more in a week than he used to in an entire month. Here’s that picture I promised. I think he’s kind of cute, which is proof that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Do y’all have any pets?
So great. We are all god creatures and all deserve love. Welcome home Ralph. We have a pet yes. It is our wonderful 7 year old Jack Russell Terrier Zoey. She is the light of our lives. She is the sweetest little snuggle pup a girl could ask for. I love her as if i had birthed her myself. She makes us a family of three (soon to be four) and we thank god each day for the blessing that is her.
Christine you sound like a jewel of a person with a dear heart. God bless you and all your family.
I have to admit, he is kinda cute. We have a cat named Kirstie. We used to have two but her twin sister Dodie died earlier this summer. We adopted them in January when they were about eight weeks old.
I have a five year old, hyper-active, toy poodle dog named Barkley.
Your gecko would be a nice toy to chase for my 3 huge Maine Coon cats… Gulp!
I've had cats my whole life, and a hamster, a goldfish, and some guppies when I was a kid. I prefer the personalities of and my interactions with the cats over the other creatures. Hard to cuddle up with a goldfish.
Ralph is cute! My husband and I have two black cats. Faith is 6.5 years old and Henry is 6 months old. Henry follows Faith around and wants to play, but Faith doesn't like him and swats at him, poor thing. We're hoping that as he gets older and calms down, she'll like him more!
If you think he's cute that's all what matters.Lol The story of him escaping was funny. We have a beagle named Georgie…Jane
I just read your story again and had missed the part about Ralph chewing on his paws. The story of him escaping wasn't all funny…Jane
Ralph is very cute! It is good that the tale of his life is getting better and he's thriving now!
Made me think of Psalm 144.
Ever since I was little I have had cats. But I had to stop having them as pets about 10 years ago. It was really hard to give up the 2 we had. Our one cat thought he was a little person and would follow me around the yards as I gardened and was had a great personality. My asthma was too bad for pets. Now we are travelling and it is great not to be concerned about pets being on their own and getting lonely or hating it in a kennel. It has all worked out for the best. Eileen
It is better for Ralph to clear out of there before a cute, furry predator showed up.
God bless u for taking him in.Why did u choose the name Ralph?
Good question. We were randomly thinking up male names, and Mr. Handsome randomly thought of Ralph. Lol
Ellie
I think he is cute!! Good for y'all taking him in. We have 2 dogs that are our fur babies.
We have, or rather they have us!, 5 spoiled cats.
My brother has a leopard gecko lizard too!
Yeah, you may not say they are "adorable" but, you can't deny that those little creatures have a beauty to them that captivates the eye. 🙂
Aww! I used to have a leopard gecko, they are awesome pets! Most people don't think of retiles as having personalities, but leopard geckos probably do. His poor tail though! If their tail falls off they grow back like that, so he must have had some rough early days.
He's cute 🙂 I used to have a dog named Norah, but she died and we didn't get another pet yet. We might get another dog in the future, but at the moment it's easier without a pet. Thank you for the great work you're doing with your blogs, I really enjoy reading them. Greetings from Germany, Jasmin
Make sure you don't touch sweet little Ralph if you might be pregnant (you probably already know this). Lizards can secrete a liquid which causes miscarriages. He is a cutie though, so aside from that he deserves a treat for posing for such a lovely photo!!
So glad you took him in!! I can tell by that cute little fat tail of his that he is very healthy!
I feel bad you would put your in laws in such a negative light.
Maybe Ellie's in-laws knew in advance what she was writing. Her in-laws and Lena probably would be the first to admit, that Ralph needed a family to love him and give him lots of attention…Jane
Why does it matter whether it has a masculine or feminine name? Animals don't know whether they're male or female, and they don't know or care whether their name is masculine or feminine. I'm guessing leopard geckos don't even respond to a name. Personally I didn't like it's original name (although it was creative) but it just seems like such an unnecessary reason to change a name