Of Dogs and Cats

I've always liked (most) animals pretty equally, though I admit certain species make better pets than others. The first pet I remember loving was a small fish named Pinky. Though we kept many fish when I was growing up, Pinky was the only fish I ever really considered "mine". Her death affected me more than any other fish (and when you keep an aquarium as long as we did, there are a lot of fish-deaths). My next exposure to pets was through a friend who kept birds. The budgies were to be loved from afar (I've never met a budgie who enjoyed being handled). Charlie was a parrot(?) who was pretty antisocial until near the end of his life. Then he began climbing on my siblings' and my shoulders and letting us pet him. Nina, also a parrot(?), was friendly from the start. I enjoyed the birds but didn't connect with them in any special way. The friend's friend had a boa named Leon (Noel in December). Through Leon I fell in love with snakes, especially the Red-Tailed Boa Constrictor. (Sadly I will never have a pet snake as Matt thinks they are inappropriate pets). Next--and this is wear the order of appearance gets murky--was Malachite, a green iguana. We only had him for a short time as his final attempt to dash out the front door was successful. I did love Malachite and his disappearance was agonizing. I would have liked to walk him around the neighborhood when he reached adulthood. At one point we had a rabbit, although he was more a tenant then a pet. He had been rescued by my brother and sister from the street, and my mother couldn't say no to our request to give him a home. Big Foot was large for a bunny, but his hoppity trails kept him in his bunny habitat most of the time. We also had Lefty, a bearded dragon whose right hand had been bitten off by his siblings as a baby. Since Lefty eventually took up residence in my bedroom, I grew quite close to the lizard. He died while I was away, and I was sorry I missed my chance to say goodbye.

But what of those furry creatures everyone thinks of when they hear "pet". Our first cats came when my mother rescued a litter of kittens that were scheduled for euthanasia. She found home four of them and we kept two: Drac (now referred to as Big Drac by Matt and me) and Runt, who later became Rani. Drac and Rani were my first pets who I could tell loved me as much as I loved them. Rani was really shy and skittish, but she would come to me if I happened to be in the bedroom by myself. Drac was the opposite and when he was older (and fatter) he would let me use his head as a pillow. Rani once filled my shoe with cat toys--the house cat equivalent to bringing home a dead critter. Around the same time Drac and Rani entered the picture, my dad allowed us to get a puppy. Dot was a basset hound with a lot of energy. As a puppy she slept in the same room as my sister and me. Once she was older she spent her time outside. Eventually my father made us surrender her to a shelter because as a family we couldn't devote our time to her. I bawled as we drove away from the shelter, her howls echoing behind us. I had been so close to teaching her sit, and I missed her crazy antics around the house. Mango is a bombay who entered the picture later. Mango is a little devil who is hell-bent on dominating the world, one human at a time. He had drawn blood on numerous occasions. There is something about Mango that has me convinced that some domestic cats never have the wild bred out of them. Still, I do love him and he keeps my mom and Mary company now that Big Drac and Rani are gone.

Enter the Waldron pets. If you ask me to choose between (little) Drac, Jenkins, and Booboo I couldn't do it. I love all of them equally for different reasons. I have often asked myself if I am more a cat person or a dog person. My innate laziness lends me to the cat side. They require much less energy. All they need from me is a clean litter box and a constant supply of food. I few tummy rubs and head pets and they're good to go. Dogs require walks, playtime, petting...dogs are reliant on their owners in ways cats will never be. My personality also is more catlike. I love laying in the sunlight streaming through a window. I value my independence. As much as I see myself in cats, there is something about the unconditional loyalty of a dog. "I love my cat, he does not care"; but my dog loves me and needs me no matter what I do. Yes he will often go to the person he knows will give him what he wants at the moment, but at the end of the day it is Mommy and Daddy's feet he chooses to sleep by.

"I'm not sure how much I believe in the idea of being a "dog person" or a "cat person." Both species offer real pleasures, just of a different kind; you don't really have to choose." -Mark Doty, author and poet

And there in lies the real answer. Some people are "cat people", some are "dog people". I'm both. I love Booboo as much as I love Jenkins and Drac. So as I consider this honest answer, I will leave you with the end of Mr. Doty's quote:

"...you don't really have to choose. Well, maybe you do temporarily, to avoid domestic violence."