Randell never wanted pets. I think he even disliked, or was scared of animals.

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Titled “Men Of Connected Women,” this series pays tribute to the wonderful men who’ve made an impact in our lives. These are the men who’ve inspired us, helped us, mentored us, raised us. Because behind every woman is a man who has made her who she is today. In this article is a unique kind of dad, a “pet dad,” who was reluctant to fit the role at first but eventually grew to love it.

In 2013, I adopted my first baby—an orange and white puspin I named Caspian. He was about six months old—not exactly a kitten. At first, Randell was reluctant about “co-parenting” a cat, but later warmed up to the role, even embracing the pet name “Daddy Cat.”

After two years of being “Mommy Cat” to Caspian, I adopted a three-month-old kitten I called Chloë. Four months after we got Chloë, I picked up a stray kitten Randell didn’t want to keep. It was a couple of months before our wedding that time and I threatened to call it off if my then-fiancé refused to keep a third cat.

As a compromise, the third kitten stayed with Randell’s parents in Muntinlupa (Caspian and Chloë were with me in Quezon City) and was named Bloom by Randell’s dad. We got married as planned (haha!).

In our second year of marriage, while we were renting a house in Muntinlupa, we discovered a stray puppy in our backyard. We let it be at first, thinking it just wandered away from its home and would later find its way back or its owners would come looking for it.

About a week went by and the pup had made our backyard its home, sometimes even entering our house. We finally decided to keep him and named him Russell.

Now Randell and I are both doting fur-parents of three cats and a dog. Every morning, before going to work, Randell would walk Russell around the village. At night, we would all let them sleep with us in our room. It means a lot to me that Randell has grown to love animals and has opened his heart and home to our little furry children.