To the extent that I'm a pet person of any sort, I'm a dog guy. With a dog, what you see is what you get. You know when they're happy and when they're sad. You know what they like and don't like. A dog's affection for you is about as close to unconditional love as you'll find in this life...and no less an authority than former president Harry Truman once famously said, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog."
Cats, on the other hand, are in it for themselves. When you come home, a dog will run to greet you joyfully and make you feel like a million dollars. A cat will peer around a corner, note that you're home, sigh at the invasion of its space, and go back to hacking up hairballs on your pillow. If you're a cat lover, I'm sorry. I'll take a dog any day.
Our first dog was Wooly, a mixed-breed (Yorkshire and Scots) terrier who was the world's best family dog. She was loving and cheerful, and much smarter than any Republican or Democrat. Our daughter taught her all the standard tricks (sit, lie down, roll over, play dead, etc), but Wooly figured out early on that it was too difficult to remember all those dumb commands...if you told her to do something, she'd just go ahead and do all the tricks she knew, one after the other, figuring that one of them was the one you wanted. She also played Hide and Seek...we'd hide, she'd find us, we'd hide again, and she'd carefully examine all the places we'd hidden before - in order - before wasting her time looking in new places. Wooly lived to be nearly 16, and when she was so old and sick that she was miserable all the time, we sat in a circle in the kitchen and sent her on her way with a lot of tears and good memories.
Our next dog was Sidney, a purebred Siberian Husky, a beautiful dog with a brown-and-white coat, blue eyes, and the personality from Hell. When our daughter put her out of her room one night because she was making too much noise, Sidney tried to dig her way back in under the door...ripping up the downstairs hallway carpet beyond salvation. He also dug holes in the living room (both the carpets and a queen-sized sleeper sofa) and tore up the carpet on the first step from the foyer up to the main level of the house (to provide a nice view for arriving visitors). The year of our miserable back-to-back snowstorms here in DC (I think it was 1996), the only happy creature in the area was Sidney, who dragged my wide white fanny seven hundred miles through deep drifts on endless walks. Sidney eventually had to go, as my legs were only seven inches long from all the walking, and we couldn't afford the exorcism to get his unlimited energy under control.
Then came Pip (aka Punky, aka Pizza, aka anything-starting-with-a-P). She was part of a litter of abandoned puppies at the vet clinic where our daughter worked, and Yasmin decided that since no one was likely to adopt a dog that was apparently a cross between a Black Lab and a Rottweiler/Pit Bull/etc, we'd have to do it. Pip grew into another great family dog like Wooly - even-tempered, friendly, and fiercely loyal. She didn't like most men, but loved me. You can see her in my profile photo:
And in this picture from a few years ago:
Pip has departed this life for the place good dogs go to chase sticks, lounge on sunny porches, and enjoy ever-full food dishes and water bowls while they wait for us to catch up, and I miss her. She could be frustrating, but as friends go, they don't come any truer.What do dogs mean to us? In his poem The Power of the Dog, Rudyard Kipling knew. And I'd like to think that for every sadistic moron like Michael Vick who chooses to abuse dogs, there are a hundred people like our friend Jodi who, with her husband Charlie, works tirelessly to rescue and provide homes for abused Akitas.
Want a friend in Washington? Get a dog. If you treat that dog like the living, loving creature it is you will have a loyal friend for life. If you don't, well, it says something about you, doesn't it?
Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.
Bilbo
The cat girls are going to be pissed at you for awhile. You know that don't you?
ReplyDeleteCat girls, don't sit back and take it! Let him know what you think!
Good stories. I retired last year and in looking for something else to do, bought a dog business. We have a kiosk in one of the upscale malls here in St. Louis. We sell all dog items including hand decorated treats. My wife told me I needed to do something other than play golf with Mike and the others. Oh wait, Mike was home watching Oprah.
ReplyDeleteOne of our franchises is in the D. C. area. It is in the mall close to the Pentagon, the mall that is attached to the Ritz Carlton
You obviously don't know much about cats! I am an animal lover myself. I love them all dogs, cats, birds, fish etc... I grew up with animals all around just like Dr. Doolittle. At present, I just have cats and I can tell you that each one has its own personality. My oldest one Smoky, is a gray & white tuxedo cat. He is such a love bug, he cuddles & sleeps with me every night. Then there is PJ, a tiger stripped kitty who loves to play. He is my hyper kitty. Then my youngest is "princess" Nina. she is my long haired all gray female. She is my prissy & spoiled cat. They all are very interactive. When I get home from work they all greet me at the bottom of the stairs, rubs one me and wants to be picked up. We play all sorts of game like hide & seek, fetch & yes they love their cat toys. They are not the type of cats that would hide and sleep all day. They all seek human companionship and loving. If you get a chance to come to my house you will see what I mean. I love my kitties and yes, I love all types of animals even the wild ones!
ReplyDeleteawesome post thanks for the shotout!
ReplyDeleteMy kitties are actually like dogs, they fetch, greet me at the door, do tricks its funny.
I love dogs, all kinds - German Sheps being my favorites, but I also love the underdog aka Pitbulls
I love both but cats are much easier to care for then dogs, especially with older parents.. And considering I have erm...right now since the babies are still here...9 cats...I have to say that all are affectionate and actually rather amusing animals with better personalities than most humans I know.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in the military, we had cats. Sometimes up to 8 cats. Since we are settled in one spot we have morphed into dog people. We now have one cat left and 3 dogs. I never have been able to figure out people who consider pets as something disposable. Our pets are people; just ask them.
ReplyDeleteZipcode, Mistress & Dancer, I know that you are all animal lovers. I can tell from your comments. As I've said before I have no problems with other animals including dogs, I just have problems with irresponsible dog owners. My husband & I run into them quite often when we do our 3-5 mile walks. Most of them don't even bring a bag to scoop up their doggies poop! Oh & not to mention the fact that they just let them do their business in your yard. It doesn't matter what our HOA say or do like put up so many trash cans to curb the problem. It doesn't work! I've actually exchanged heated words with a neighbor who let her dog "c---p"
ReplyDeleteall over my yard repeatedly. After talking to her the second time around she stopped. I guess my message got thru to her. Oh and by the way, our friend Jodi, she not only rescues akitas, but she also adopts cats as well. Her latest addition to her vast collection which runs to about 16-20 cats, are
Sabrina & Sugar, "Ms Cranky Pants". Shes's just not a dog lover but a cat lover as well. People who have an aversion to cats do themselves no favor! I also came across one interesting comment, "Real men cuddle their cats" Just ask my husband, he was once a dog person until he met "Pepper" our first cat who was a stray. The rest is history! A wise person once said, "The cat it is well to remember, remains the friend of man because it pleases him to do so and not because he must! Resourceful, brave, intelligent (the brain of a kitten is comparatively larger that that of a child), the cat is in no sense dependent and can revert to the wild state with less readjustment of values than any other domestic animal. Finally this, "if we were able to crossbreed a cat and a man, it would ruin the cat and improve the man".