I walk up the driveway and lift my hand to knock. Before I do, though, the door bursts open and Rebecca Craft comes out with a smile on her face.
“Hey!” she greets me. “I didn’t expect you here so early.”
Glancing over to where the sun is rising, I apologize. “I wanted to get the full experience.”
Rebecca motions for me to follow her while walking into the yard. “Come on. Let’s go see the chickens first.” I nod and hurry after her.
We arrive at the chicken coop, and I see two birds inside. “What type of chickens are they?” I ask. “And what are their names?”
“Well,” Rebecca begins. “They’re Buff Orpington chickens. That one’s Faith, and there’s Hope,” she says as she points to each one in turn. “We used to have another one, named Love, but she died back in May. Actually…” she stops and thinks. “We’ve had a lot of chickens before this. They’ve gotten sick and died, though.”
I offer my condolences, knowing how hard it is to lose a pet. “So, what do you do with the chickens every day?”
Rebecca kneels down to unlatch the door and release the chickens. “We let them out in the morning, and then we have to remember to close them back up at night. They like to roam, looking for bugs to eat.”
“Oh, yum,” I respond. “Gotta love those bugs. How long have you had Faith and Hope?”
Standing back up, Rebecca answers, “A friend gave them to us last year–March 31st, to be precise.” She starts walking back toward the house. I follow her inside, pausing when I see a blue fish staring at me.
“Who’s this?” I ask.
“He doesn’t have a name,” Rebecca replies. “But he’s a betta fish. We’ve had him for seven months now, since February.”
I press my face to the side of the tank, watching the betta fish. “He’s a fast swimmer, isn’t he?” I remark.
“Yep! Pretty much all day, he’s just swimming, swimming, swimming…I think he took Dory’s advice to heart.”
I laugh and step back. “He sounds entertaining.” At a noise, I turn to face another room. “What’s in there?”
“Oh, those are the rats.” Rebecca leads me in. “Their names are Peter and Loki. We used to have another named Whiskers, but he got cancer and died last March.”
I take a closer look at the pair, cuddling next to each other. “What sorts of things do they do in a typical day? Do they ever cause any trouble?”
“Honestly, they mostly just sleep,” Rebecca admits. “They like each other’s company, as you can see. Sometimes during the night, they’ll shred paper, and it gets really noisy. Oh, and Loki has escaped from the cage a few times–fitting, considering his name.”
Laughing, I inquire, “Where did you get the rats? And do they have any favorite things?”
“Actually we got them from someone on Craigslist, right after we got Faith and Hope. They love to eat; their favorite food is probably strawberry-banana yogurt.”
I nod. “Yogurt is delicious.”
Just then, a furry mass blurs past us. “And that’s Coco!” Rebecca calls as she rushes after it. I hurry behind her, chasing the fur blob into a room and shutting the door behind us. I breathe heavily, watching as Rebecca sits down on the floor with the dog–as I now see that it is–on her lap. “She’s a mini poodle.”
I sit next to them, letting Coco sniff my hand. “Can you tell me a bit about her?”
Rebecca strokes her dog, thinking. “We’ve had her the longest of any of our pets. We got her back in 2014; I think it was August. She was only two months old.”
“Wow, so she’s pretty old now,” I comment.
Nodding, Rebecca continues. ”She sleeps in a crate every night, and we have to let her out in the morning like the chickens. During the day she can go outside. We’ve even taught her to bark at the door when she needs to, and she does a pretty good job of it. She likes to just lie in the sun, and she’s got a bed in here too that she can use for naps. Sometimes though, she’ll sneak onto the couch for a snuggle.”
I smile, lightly petting the top of Coco’s head. “Does she have any likes or dislikes?”
“She adores table scraps, especially chicken, which is ironic since she doesn’t actually pay that much attention to our chickens. She will chase the neighbor’s cat away from them, though, and we’re all grateful for that.” Rebecca gazes at Coco lovingly.
“She sounds amazing,” I say. “So what’s your favorite part about having all these pets?”
“Well,” Rebecca considers. “I love getting to know each of their unique personalities. Even though they’ve got such a short lifespan, compared to us, it’s a joy to be able to see God’s creations right here in our home. Plus, the cuddles are amazing.”
I wholeheartedly agree. “Thank you so much for having me today!”
“My pleasure,” says Rebecca as she lifts Coco’s paw to wave goodbye to me.
