Risto wants a pet. Saturday night he started crying that he wants a hamster or a guinea pig. He really cried, tears rolling down his cheeks and his sorrow was so profound. I held him, trying desperately to comfort him, but knowing exactly that nothing could heal this pain inside him. "I want a hamster or a guinea pig, not a slimy frog or a lizard. I want something furry to hold and have it in my room and call it my own!".
I remember feeling the same way when I was a kid with an allergic mom and denied all furry animals. Now my son is in the same situation with an allergic dad.