I’m curious any dog people around here?
Sorry, cats. Two strays, that I never thought I’d adopt, but I couldn’t allow them to just die. Everything they do is cute and they are the two best cats in the world. No arguments.
Dog person here. Not an owner though.
I refuse to own a little one, and don’t think it’s acceptable to own an animal that is meant to roam freely, and confine it to a house all day. Plus they bark and annoy me and the neighbors (I’m on the receiving end and refuse to also annoy my neighbors.)
If I ever own an acreage I’ll definitely own a black lab. I grew up with them on the farm and they’re awesome in every way.
Got lots of dogs. Six puppies and this morning I noticed one the the cats has kittens. Last week one of the teen aged dogs got a snake bite. Head almost doubled in size. Didn’t seem to bother him much. He is back to normal now. Their favorite word is “walk”. Nearest neighbor is half mile. Can hear the neighbors when they are outside talking. Train is 5 miles and it is loud at nighttime. When the coyotes howl at night all the dogs for miles around join in and it gets loud. I enjoy it, would not want it any other way.
I’m a cat person, too. I know that Lausten’s cats are the best in the world because all cats are the best in the world.
That reminds me of a joke. We know that the world is not flat, because if it were by now cats would have pushed everything off the edge. 
What if I told you… your cats aren’t “real.” Cats are inter-dimensional beings who can pop, turn and twist through time and space. Observe your cat sometime when you are bored and you will notice they possess a level of extra sensory perception you can’t even begin to imagine. I’d tell you more but I’m not sure you’re ready. This rabbit hole is deep but are you ready to dive in? Drop me a line if you’re brave enough. I’m afraid I can only tell you so much through text. We’ll need to head into Virtual Reality to discuss it further so you’ll need to buy an Oculus Rift, available at Amazon for the low low price of $485.00. From creator and founder Paul Bettner and John Gibson comes the 21st centuries premier virtual reality headset. Boasting an Intel i5-4590, 8gb of RAM, Windows 10 (or newer) OS support and THREE USB PORTS - COUNT THEM- THREE, you will not only GET IN THE GAME, you will BE IN THE GAME!
Tell you what Tom, I’ll save my money and be satisfied with this video.
Don’t ever snip that tail.
Birds should not mess with that cat when he’s outside.
Tom Shillerson wrote: "What if I told you… your cats aren’t “real.” Cats are inter-dimensional beings who can pop, turn and twist through time and space..."I'd probably say that you've obviously been partaking of legalized marijuana already. :)
I had a cat once, a black cat, who figured out how to catch birds. She realized that she couldn’t sneak up on them because they would see her coming, which is the evolutionary disadvantage of that beautiful black fur. So she would just walk over and stand underneath the bird feeder, which was hanging about five feet off the ground. The birds flew away naturally. But she just stood there. After a few minutes, the birds seemed to forget that she was there and came back to the feeder. She patiently waited a minute or two longer, and then suddenly leaped straight up, snagged one of the birds and walked away with it. That was when I started hanging my bird feeders SIX feet off the ground.
Major is a 3 year old Jack Russell, with a distressing amount of energy. His favourite things in the world are killing tennis balls and barking at something in a tree outside ,which I can’t see. Or at a butterfly ,or in fact anything which moves. His third favourite thing is chewing things. You know, papers, books, electrical wires------
A rescue dog, it’s been like child proofing a house against a two year old… In the past I’ve done that by not allowing anyone under 40 in my house.
There has been a period of adjustment; I’m not accustomed to having a dog smarter than me.
Mine’s a rescue dog, caught in the alley’s of Farmington, apparently kicked out by a family that resented her infidelity, yes she was with pups.
Paula took me along to the pound since after long avoidance I submitted to her desire for a dog. She’d tragically, and way too early, lost her perfect dog some years earlier, so the mourning and waiting-time was a very real thing for her. Me, never had a dog, so I was fine with the no dog in our 600sq ft. household. But, I knew one was in my future, just hoping it would wait.
Then, she was ready and wanting and I said okay and from there on - I was along for the ride and willing to do my best. Boy, what a ride it’s turned out to be for an observant mediative sort like me.
Found her at the Farmington NM pound after the last of her litter was given away. Looking very lonely and we all connected and willingly she came home with us. So incredibly polite she was. Even politely stayed outside of our tiny kitchen area the first few weeks. When left alone in the cabin, she was relaxed, no mischief or panic. Think she’s simply happy she has her place - and doesn’t have to worry about the horrors of life in the back alleys.
At first it was sort of like that unexpected child that’s suddenly taking up the living room, not exactly happy with it, but christ it wasn’t the little kid’s fault, so deal with it yourself, even if it upturns routines more than you could have ever imagined, there might be something in it for you if you don’t screw it up.
Then my gal points out, you know she’s decided you are her master - "What! No you got her! I’m not the dog person here! Doesn’t matter, pay attention you’ll notice it. I sure did. Now what do I do? How do I communicate with it. Well, just talk to her, tell her what you want.
Amazingly that really works, okay she does not understand my words, the way a human understands words and meanings, but she does understand what I’m saying, key words, tone and tempo of voice, hand gestures, simply by osmosis (since I don’t want to use ‘telepathy’).
Then the adventure and the head trip of the bonding process and the teaching each other, and how much they want to understand and cooperate. Surprise after sure.
Oh yeah, my gal had some more advice: spend some time playing with her and showing her some affection. Jesus louisious, was that a slippery slidely slope, since Maddy is happy to return affection and you know where that leads. Then there’s those big brown eye’s locked on you: “let’s go for a walk,” but we just went for a walk Maddy! - blink, blink, blink, “Let’s go for a walk!”
I’ve wrote about her here in the early days and pointed out she don’t listen for poop, that’s no longer true, when I call she comes, when I say NO she listens, of course unless she’s got a good scent going, that bets are off. Though even after a good rabbit chase she’ll turn around and head back to me.
So I’m now endlessly fascinated by that bond that dogs can make with humans. Only other animal that I think comes close must be a horse. Cats, they can’t relate to us at all, they’ve just learned how to live with us and accept what we give them, while they go around in their own world.
Where as Maddy is all about me, watching me, anticipating, expecting, on walks she roams, but is always making eye contact with me. It’s fun when I manage to move to a different location without her noticing and then watching a she glances to where I’m supposed to be, then the surprise on her face and the head turning to scan the scene till she spots me.
But this could have never happened to me before, because I simply didn’t have the time. Now I’m older and this past year, my genuine physical hard working days have pretty much come to an end, no reprieves in sight this time around, mortality is knocking on my door, and I’d better pay attention and lighten up if I want to squeeze some more time out of this body.
But it means more time at home - thus this new adventure is a joy, why am I not surprised she turns out to be a nice little lady. I’ve been blessed indeed.
A rescue dog, it’s been like child proofing a house against a two year old.. In the past I’ve done that by not allowing anyone under 40 in my house.Laughing my ass off. Patrick, you are a wonderful addition over here! Thanks