If you have never shared your life with an animal or had any kind of personal relationship with one, then you just might not understand this post (sorry but you won’t). And to make matters even trickier, if you are a cat person you don’t necessarily understand a dog person, and a dog person may never really get what another person sees in living with a ferret or a snake or an iguana. And then there are some of us who fall in love with a host of different animals. I wonder what makes some people attracted to one kind of pet vs another? (I must admit that I am really not a Rat or reptile person (but I can accept the choice to have one)).
Louie
I always thought of myself as a DOG PERSON. I did not grow up with cats. I met some cats in the neighborhood but I don’t really remember having any significant relationships with one. My sister says we had an outside cat for awhile, Ginger, but I have no recall. The only resident cat I remember is my Aunt Harriet’s big fat mean cat that used to sit on her dining room table and swat at you if you got close. I used to bring kittens home all the time and sneak them into the basement, but ultimately my Dad would find them and ‘take them for a ride’ (I think he took them to the park and left them at the golf course for someone else to find.) So, I did not really know what cats were about. I had the stereotypical view that they didn’t need much from humans, were independent, and kinda mean and scratchy.
Ever since I was little we had a dog: Louis Pierre Andre the 14th of Edgewood (I guess 3 kids could not agree on one name). Louie came to live with us when I was about 5 or 6. We first had a dachshund, named Fraya, but she got hit by a car. Then, if I remember the story at all, some friend of my sister’s owned a pizza parlor and had this French Poodle puppy that was making them crazy. So, that is how we came upon living with a silver miniature poodle. My mother, being the 50’s NY housewife, made sure he was always well clipped and even had silver nail polish to match. Louie was the best dog for a kid. He let me dress him up in little dresses and would tolerate anything I could throw at him. He lived to be about 18 I think. He passed when I was away at college. I was definitely a dog person.
Eddie 1
So, how did I become a cross over? Well, in college I knew that I could never care for a dog but I wanted furry companionship. So the next best thing, I figured, was a cat. First I adopted a little kitten from a guy named ‘Ed.’ She was black and white. I named her ‘Eddie.’ Ed told me that all animals start out named, Ed, and then people gave them their forever names. I did not question that assumption. My dorm allowed pets but my roommate was not happy. And, I knew nothing about what a cat would need and ended up having to give her up at the end of the first semester when I went home and my, ‘we don’t do cats!’ parents, would not let her come home with me. But, I was smitten with the cat bug and from then on I was both a CAT PERSON and a DOG PERSON. I actually had many cats after that before I felt settled and responsible enough to have my own dog.
What about you? How did you fall in love with your non-human companion?
Just another DogDaz morning at our house. ❤
DogDaz Zoo 