Thus get wife animal (3)
I believe the answer is:
sow
'animal' is the definition.
'thus get wife' is the wordplay.
'thus' becomes 'so' ('so' can be a synonym of 'thus').
'get' says to put letters next to each other.
'wife' becomes 'w'.
'so'+'w'='SOW'
(Other definitions for sow that I've seen before include "One who takes care of litter" , "Female pig" , "Prepare farmland" , "Plant seed in soil" , "Broadcast" .)