I am 82, my husband 77. We share our home with 7 adopted cats (all senior now), and 26 parrots. The work involved in their care keeps us limber and moving. The love and company they provide is worth the vet trips and mess they create.

We lost one of our boys this year. He was in pain and suffering. We did not hesitate to end his life. We had spent about $12k trying to save him, but we couldn’t. We still expect to see him curled up in an Amazon box, a box a tad too small for his chunky body.