March 26, 2025

🐶 We Are the Hansons: Why Pets Are a Must in a Big Family! 🐾

🐶 We Are the Hansons: Why Pets Are a Must in a Big Family! 🐾

Life in a big family is already an adventure—but add pets into the mix, and you’ve got chaos, love, and unforgettable moments! 🏡🐶🐱 From teaching kids responsibility to bringing extra cuddles, comfort, and laughter, pets are the unsung heroes of large families. In this episode of We Are the Hansons, we dive into why having furry (or feathery!) companions makes family life even better. We’ll share hilarious pet stories, surprising benefits, and a few challenges that come with balancing kids AND critters under one roof! So grab your favorite pet and tune in! 🎧🐾
💬 What’s your favorite pet story? Drop it in the comments!

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Welcome back to We are the Hansens.

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Today we're diving into topics that might seem small at first,

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but is actually a huge part of our family's life. Pets.

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If you have a big family like ours, you know

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that managing daily life is already an adventure. But today

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we're going to talk about why adding pets into the

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mix isn't just doable, it's beneficial. From teaching responsibility to

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creating laxing memories, pets are incredible addition to a large household.

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Let's get into it.

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In a house full of kids, you might wonder do

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we really need more living things to take care of?

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And you know the answer is for us and it

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has always been yes. Pets bring something special to a

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family dynamic. They provide companionship, emotional support, and even structure

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to daily routines. Now, when our older kids were little,

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we lived on a farm and we had miniature horses,

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we had Sicilian donkeys, we had chickens, we had ducks,

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we had baby goats.

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And after we.

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Moved from the farm down here to Missouri, you know,

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we've always had dogs and so our dogs have always

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been a big part of our family and we used

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to raise mastiffs and they were the best dog for

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a large family. English Mastiffs were our big quantity of

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mastive pups. And then we also had a bowl mastiff and.

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I end up.

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Looking back and seeing, you know, I really miss our

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mastiff breed. They were so good with our children. Yes,

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we still have dogs now. We did have cats, we

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had baby calves, We've had pigs. You know, we've had

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baby skunks. So pets are a huge part of our life.

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I always tell my husband once these dogs are gone,

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no more.

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Because.

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It is so hard to travel and find somebody to

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take care of them when you're gone. And I want

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to take my kids all over the place. I want

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to take them to Florida. I want to take them

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to Georgia. I want to take them all over. It

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is just too hard with animals. But I know me

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saying that it ain't gonna last long because we love

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our pets, and kids in a large family learn to

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share space, toys, and attention, but pets introduce another layer

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of understanding. When a pet is sick, scared, or just

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need some extra love. Children learn to be gentle and patient.

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If our dog gets nervous during storms, our kids know

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to speak softly and comfort them. These small interactions shape

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them into more compassionate people. My kids love their pets.

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No matter how chaotic a day is. Pets are always there,

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ready to offer a moment of peace.

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You know.

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We used to have cats, and a cat curled up

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in a child's lap while they read, or a dog

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wagging its tail when the kids come home from school

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creates a deep sense of security and love. My animals

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were always happy to see our children, whether it be

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the donkeys, the miniature horses, the baby cows, you know,

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even down to the ducks, the baby goats, they would

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always get out and they would always greet my children.

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The donkeys would even get out. But life in a

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big family can be so busy, and sometimes it's easy

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to get caught up in different schedules, but pets naturally

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bring people together. Caring for pets isn't a solo job.

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It takes teamwork, and we learned that when we had

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our pharm Everybody helped do chores. Everybody helped feed the

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chickens and the ducks. Everybody helped feed the goats. Everybody

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helped feed the donkeys and the miniature horses, whether it's

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you know, going on a walk together, bathing the dog,

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or picking out a new toy for the cat. These

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small tasks create bonding moments. It doesn't seem like it'd

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be that way, but it definitely is. When you have

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to bathe your dog, my kids are always the first

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ones that say we'll do it. I do tend to

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help because otherwise we'd have a huge pool in our bathroom.

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You know, think back to childhood.

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Some of the most heartwarming moments often involve pets. When

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I was a kid, we had a dog named Tucker,

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and he was so scared of thunderstorms, so he would

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jump up on the bed by us kids and he'd

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get under the covers and hide. Maybe it was that

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time that you know, the dogs stole up a sandwich

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off the counter, or when the kids tried to train

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the family cat to do tricks and failed. These moments

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become stories that get retold for many years, and eventually

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the grandkids will be telling these stories because it is

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a never ending thing. There's always a story to be told.

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Big families mean lots of energy. Pets just add to

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the fun, whether it's playing fetch in the backyard, running

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around with the dog, or even setting up obstacle courses.

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Pets encourage movement and outdoor play and keeping kids active

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and engaged.

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And that is the truth. I don't know the dogs

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that we have now.

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They are older, while two of them are older, and

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you would never be able to tell with how much energy.

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They bring.

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Our dog, Boomer can play for hours and still want

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to play and you're dead tired, and he is ready

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to play. He loves playing with his rope, He loves balls,

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and he loves when you put a flashlight down the

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ceiling and make shadows. He jumps to try and reach

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the shadow. It is so fun and the kids always

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show their friends that because we've never seen a dog

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do that. And Boomer was a rescue. He was actually

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dumped at our house, thrown out of a car at

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our farm, and when he came to the door, he

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was just a pup and he was covered his whole

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body with cigarette burns. He had, his eye was tore.

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It was just really really sad and I could not

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I tried to get a rescue to take him, and

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I just couldn't do it because he stole my heart.

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He was that dog and he has the saddest eyes.

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But knowing what he went through before, just by seeing him,

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because I don't know who dumped him, but just seeing

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all the burns on his body, he went through pure hell.

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And I was always scared that if I found him

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another home that he would be mistreated, so I'd rather

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just keep him. He's nine years old roughly, and I

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know that he's happy here and he loves our kids

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and he loves us, so he's stuck with us. And

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then our little dog Minie, she was a rescue as well,

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because same thing with her. She was abused, and we

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took her home. And then we inherited a dog from

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our friend that had passed away, and he requested that

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we take his little dog. We're kind of stuck with

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these dogs until they're gone, but that's okay because they

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keep us busy, they keep the kids busy and happy

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and entertained, and.

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We love them. So.

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Of course, pets come with their own set of challenges,

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especially in a large family, but just like anything else

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with a little structure, it's completely manageable. It's easy for

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kids to get excited about getting a pet but lose

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interest in taking care of it. And we learn that

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when we had our cows. The kids begged for these

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little cows, and you know, they had to bottle feed them,

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bottle feed them, bottle feed them, and then they started

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training them to come off the bottle, and at that

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point they lost interest. We make sure each child has

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a specific pet related job and we rotate them so

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no one gets stuck with the not so fun task

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all the time. The kids don't like to clean up

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the potties in the backyard, and so they each take turns.

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We have a little scooper and they go out in

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the backyard and they clean it up and it's usually

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done every two days. That way, nobody steps in it.

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You know, a big family is already loud, and adding barking,

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or if you have cats meowing or birds chir being

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to the mix can feel so overwhelming. We found that

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setting quiet zones for pets and kids helps keep the

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house from turning into a zoo. The only dog that

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barks is the new one because she had never been

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around a lot of people. She was with one person

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all the time, and so just the littlest things she barks.

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And she's a bigger so when you have food, she

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barks for that too. Because I'm pretty sure she was

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spoilt by her previous owner, and he probably gave her

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a lot of scraps. Not all pets fit well into

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a large family. High maintenance pets might be tough, while

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others like dogs, cats, or even guinea pigs tend to

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do better in a big household. It's important to choose

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pets that match your family's lifestyle. That's why I love

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the massive breed. The bond between a child and a

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pet doesn't just last through childhood, it shapes the way

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they interact with the world as adults.

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Kids who grow up with.

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Pets are often more empathetic and nourishing, and they understand

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that animals have needs and emotions, and this translates into

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how they treat people. Studies have shown that pets help

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reduce stress, anxiety, and even depression for kids going through

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tough times, whether it struggles at school or big family changes,

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having a pet can be comforting. And I can tell

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you it is. You know, when my little Anna has

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her seizures, you know the dogs know it. They lay

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by her, and I think they sense that stuff. You know,

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just by watching our dogs and animals, even our cats.

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When we had cats, when the kids seem sick, they

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would be right there laying with them. It was almost

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like they knew. And I also believe that there are

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pets out there that can sense bad. I remember one

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time we had this massive name Bison, and we lived

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in a It wasn't a big town, it was a

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smaller town and we lived right in town and Bison

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was outside and we were outside and the kids were

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playing in the yard and we were sitting on the

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deck and I remember he was laying there on the

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in the yard watching the kids. And this guy went

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walking through the alley behind our house and Bison stood

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up and all his hair on his back stood up,

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and we were like, hmm, that's weird because he's never

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acted that way.

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And the guy said is he friendly?

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And my husband said, no, I mean he is, but

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he's I wouldn't come any closer, you know, he's I

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think he's protecting our kids. Well, that guy just kept

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on walking and it was like a couple days later

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and we were looking on the registered Sex Offender registry

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and here that guy that was out there was a

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registered sex offender.

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He was a life registry.

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So dogs can sense evil, Dogs can sense bad, and

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they will be the first to alert. And I honestly

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believe that you listen to your pets because even though

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they can't talk, their actions will tell the tale.

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And I believe that's true.

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Just like when kids are sick and they are laying

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with them, an animal knows, an animal can feel that.

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So our family wouldn't be the same without our pets.

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They brought us joy, laughter, and even a little extra chaos,

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but it's all been worth it for sure. You know,

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whether you're thinking about adding a pet to your big

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family or already have a few, remember that the love

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they bring makes every challenge worth it.

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Do you have pets.

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In your big family and what's your favorite pet memory?

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You can send us a message on our We Are

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the Hansen's Facebook page or send us an email at

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we are the Hansen's Show at gmail dot com, and

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please go and subscribe to our YouTube channel We are

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the Hansens. Thank you for joining us on We Are

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the Hansens.