As a child growing up, I remember making every living creature I found into a pet. I had a frog that I found when we had gone to the lake. I kept him on our porch in a cardboard box with sand, grass, and a water bowl. He must have lived at least two weeks. We fed him lettuce and other tasty things. I also kept a minnow that my parents had gotten for bait. I think I named him Swimmy. We kept him in an ice cream bucket on the porch and fed him all sorts of weird stuff. I remember trying to get more air into the water by blowing bubbles with a straw. Yeah, he died anyway.
We also had cats. My first cat was named “Goody” and she would actually fetch balls and drop them at your feet to play catch. I loved that cat. She was so tolerant. Then, the next cat we got, I named, “Goody” also because I missed the first cat. He would later be renamed “Bad Goody,” after trying to pounce on my sister and marking his territory all over our house. Then we got “Puff.” She lived the longest and she was a good cat.
One thing I never got into, however, were dogs. Can I just be honest here? I cannot stand dogs. They are really cute to look at, but I totally don’t get it. They smell, they slobber, they sniff, and they jump. And it seems like people are really into their dogs. As a cat lover, I understand that not everyone likes cats or can tolerate them, so I put them away in another room so they won’t annoy anyone, if I know the person doesn’t like them. I have met some dog lovers that will allow their dog to jump, sniff, and slobber all over me, and then say, “Oh, Spot is really friendly. He loves people.” Yeah, well, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I don’t like dogs, in fact, I found out that I am allergic to them–not to cats, mind you, but to dogs. The thing I hate the most is when they sniff you. Why do they always sniff your crotch? EW! I just don’t know what to say about that. I always feel really conspicuous, especially when it is that time of the month. And have you ever watched a dog lick someone’s face? Gag me. I think I would pass out. All I can say is that I really think they are cute to look at, but not as my own.
We have two cats. Slippers and Millie. They are complete opposites. Slippers is a lover and Millie is just plain stupid, but in an endearing way. Slippers loves people and Millie hates them most of the time. But I don’t force them on anyone. If we have cat people coming over, we keep them out, but if it is someone we don’t know, we put them away. But I think cats are all we will ever own, and that is just fine with me.