There are times that I find myself talking to my pets. It’s not that we have a conversation as much as they listen and are good companions.
When I’m stressed or feeling bad, they sense it and offer what comfort they can. My pets have ways of making things better for me.
It’s hard imagining what daily life would be like without pets. A topic that came up the other night in some family discussions was that of ‘pets and affairs’.
Any affair can potentially split your marriage. It doesn’t have to, yet the risk remains. Anything that splits your marriage threatens your pets as well. For them, its not just about changing relationships, it’s about changing their whole world.
Any time you feel threatened, they will go to the person who is not threatening.
If you have an affair, your pets may very likely go with the person who is not having the affair. If you get a divorce, your pets will usually end up going with one of the divorcing spouses. It’s hard to imagine losing your pet in addition to your spouse, but it happens.
Your pet’s forever home has conditions. One of those conditions is that their owners don’t have an affair. This isn’t mentioned in the contract, but it should be.
Although they provide a listening ear and companionship, even that’s at risk with an affair. An affair can mean that someone loses out on access to their pet.
With an affair, you are opening the door to more than just your spouse. You are also opening up your pets to potential threats and real threats in some cases.
You can explain affairs to children, but can you explain it to your pet? Sure, you can tell them your side of things, yet will they grasp what’s actually happening?
Your pets need love and affection from both of you. The affair stresses them out as well.
They know that something’s wrong. You are their life. When one of you is alienated from the pet, they lose a big part of their life.
They’ve seen the irritation, stress and anger, yet don’t grasp what’s at the root of it. They suffer from affairs as well. They lose out and don’t have a voice in what happens.
Pets are another reason for the two of you to at least open channels of communication with each other. In the Affair Recovery Workshop, I’ll show you ways of opening up communication in your marriage.
When the two of you are talking and working things out, it’s better for your pets, your stress and yourself.
Keeping It Real,
Jeff
