The Truth About CATS and DOGS

ATTENTION PLEASE: A huge event is happening right now: #2019RABirthdayAuctions  organized and hosted by Guylty . Just go visit her at https://guylty.net/2019/08/17/the-2019rabirthdayauctions-are-live/ and all information, updates, fabulous promotional video are provided. The auction is on Ebay at https://www.ebay.ie/usr/guylty with a full list of 29 fabulous items that Guylty put together  to auction for donating to the marvelous Shelter organization, a housing and homelessness charity in the UK. More info on that can be found at http://www.shelter.org.uk. Bid, donate or just cheer on. This event ends tomorrow August 20 UK time.  The birthday boy is actor Richard Armitage my um shower dreamboat every night as he blows out 48 candles on August 22.

 

We grew up with dogs, cats and guinea pigs in our household. My mom loves animals and she has passed that love on to myself and my siblings. My first dog I got was a pug/schnautzer mix I named Sunshine (Sunny for short). Sunshine lived to be 16 years old. She loved everyone. She was always happy and had a halcyon outlook toward everything. She was never cross, never upset and taught me to enjoy life. She was a fighter up until the end having insulin dependent diabetes, glaucoma and Cushings Disease. My second dog Chloe was a border terrier. She lived to be 13. She had pancreatitis when she was 10 and almost died. She taught me to never give up. She ended up having a brain tumor and grand mal seizures. We took her on a tour of Washington memorials a few months before she passed away so she could be outside and among people which she loved. Whenever  I get to a negative place I think about how hard she fought to overcome her health issues, and it gives me inspiration to move forward. My third dog Sascha is an alpha. She is the boss “Sheriff” in my household. Nothing escapes her attention and she is clearly in charge. She is a beagle/schnautzer mix and is the antithesis of Sunshine. Sascha can get upset at a drop of a hat and keeps the boys in line. She is very smart and hoards her treats. But she knows when I am sad, upset, blue and comes and cuddles and comforts me. Her nickname is “mommy”. Maximilian or Max or Maxie as he now responds to is my middle child, a cocker spaniel who is all male: built like a line backer, obsessed with food, sleeps a lot and does his own thing. He has taught me to chill and relax more. Don’t sweat the small stuff so much. He and I have horrible sinus allergies and ear issues. And the baby is Edmund Eddie who is a Labradoodle. Eddie is built like a giraffe who thinks he is a 10 pound lap dog. Eddie is protective, loving, clingy, anxiety ridden, rambunctious at times and keeps Sascha young at heart. Eddie has taught me to smile more, hug more, be more patient and treasure the people around me.

My family have cats. My good friends have cats. Cats and I have boundary issues. Some cats like me. Some cats tolerate me. Some cats hide from me. Cats are like children with their parents very much like dogs. Cats are loyal but finicky. Cats are smart and cunning like my parents’ two cats. Cats seek attention and unconditional love just like dogs do. Maybe I’m drawn to animals because I can’t find that in humans. There always seems to be a clause attached. We all have positive and negative traits. Perfection really doesn’t exist… how can it? So for me I gravitate to people like me who get me who I find qualities similar to me..

My go to comfort movie in my thirties before Bridget Jones came out in 2001 was The Truth About Cats and Dogs (1996) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117979) a fable about a radio host veterinarian Abby (Janeane Garofalo) who is confident on the inside but insecure about her appearance. She meets through her radio show a photographer Brian  (Ben Chaplin) who ends up adopting a Great Dane. The photographer also meets Uma Thurman’s character  Noelle who is beautiful on the outside and confident when it comes to men but allows men to control her. Janeane’s character Abby has a cat. Ben’s character Brian has a dog. And yes there is a happy ending. The movie shows how men and women are very different but very similar and how what we see isn’t always what is real.

Do you think animals teach us anything? If so what?