American in Latvia

I think I will miss this face most of all while I'm in Latvia: Angel (aka Rue Rue, aka Doodle) the Siberian Husky. By the time I leave I'll have only lived with her for a year. In a way it will be easier to leave the cats, since I've had them for 9 and 6 years. I hope my host family has pets...

It's strange... I've been without my parents and never really missed them, but I'm always extremely homesick for my pets. It's not that I love my parents less, but we're able to communicate, they know I still love them, etc. But pets don't understand why all of a sudden they have to sleep alone on the bed. They don't understand why someone leaves. And the relationship with a pet is very physical - they recognize love through belly rubs and cuddling. There's no way to show the animals that I still love them while I'm away. I sleep with my dog every night (and before we got her, I slept with a cat on my chest) and I have a hard time getting to sleep without a warm fuzzy animal snoring next to me. (Seriously, my dog snores louder than my dad.) I'm definitely preparing a Build-A-Bear visit before I leave. It's either that or stuffing a tiny hissing cat, a 40 pound dog, and an obese feline in one suitcase. Plus the fish.