Animal Control

There’s something very special about pets.

Whether it be a dog or a cat, they can become as close a friend as many of our human friends. And -- often -- easier to deal with.

For many, a pet is like a child. Maybe it is the child they never had, or the child who grew up and moved away -- leaving a too quiet, empty house.

Pets can fill those voids in our lives -- if we’re willing to take on that responsibility.

Because, let’s face it: Pets DO require a lot of effort if the relationship is to become lasting and meaningful. There’s shopping for food, and feeding them, and cleaning the litter box (cats), and daily walking (dogs) and staying current on shots, and on and on…

We worry about them when they’re left home alone, and they can complicate our vacation plans: “Do I take (the pet) with me, or try to find someone I really trust to care for it while I’m gone?”

We fret over them when they’re sick, and they break our hearts when they die. Some say: “When Muffy goes, I’m not getting another (dog or cat).”

But we almost always do.

Pets have the power to run our lives in many ways, whether we realize it or not.

Me, I have a cat AND a dog. My cat is very demanding of my attention, whether it’s about re-filling his food dish on time or sleeping in my bed. Since we now live in the city, he’s become an in-house cat, and I feel guilty for having taken away the freedom he enjoyed when we lived in the mountains.

Up there, we had a cat-door and he could come and go as he pleased. I know he loved that, but it was a risky life, what with all the coyotes and cougars wandering through our property.

Now, in the city, he’s confined to the house to avoid getting run over by a car or whatever. I watch him lying in the window and looking wistfully outside -- and it kind of breaks my heart.

But I know he’s safe, and it’s better than finding him lying flattened in the middle of the street.

And my dog is another demanding presence in the house. He simply MUST be walked EVERY DAY. Well, not if it’s raining or snowing or exceptionally cold or hot. But otherwise, every day!

And there are many days I simply don’t feel up to it (you know: being lazy). But I regard him as my personal trainer, getting me off the couch and out into the world for 45 minutes or so. It’s good for him and good for me, too, so it’s OK.

The other thing about walking a dog is picking up the poop.

I heard someone say that, if aliens came to Earth and witnessed humans following their dogs and picking up their poop, they might be inclined to believe THEY are the MASTERS and we humans are the SLAVES.

I don’t know. I keep saying: “When this pet goes, I’m done with taking care of them like they somehow OWN me.”

But then my cat or dog will jump up and snuggle with me and my heart melts once again...

I guess they DO own me.