Interspecies Relationships

I was asked by a reader of this blog if I believe in interspecies relationships. This reader was, of all things, a cat! The cat apparently has a case of puppy love for me and wants to know if I would be interested in a friendship with her.

All my dog-friends have told me to dislike cats. Cats, they say, are not like dogs and dogs are the most superior animals of all. If humans especially want to know what the full essence of being an animal is like, all they have to do is look at dogs. Dogs are the epitome of what it means to be an animal. Dogs are the best. They are superior. They can be both ferocious and loving. Without being a dog, you simply can't be considered an animal.

I must listen to the wise words of my dog-friends because after all, I am still a puppy and learning new things every day. They say to be wary of cats because cats are very different from dogs: they meow and purr instead of bark; they use the facilities in a little box and not outside like the rest of the animals; their food is so much more different than dogs' foods; they sleep so much; they jump and climb a lot; they are more concerned about their own space than that of a pack.

Silly, silly cats. How they must wish to be like us dogs, the truest animal there is! Dogs--the one and only way to be an animal.

But the more I think about it, I wonder if my dog-friends have their ideas about the superiority of dogs correct. Why would God make one animal more superior than the others? Didn't St. Francis of Assisi, my human hero, love all animals? Why should we not like someone else just because he or she looks, speaks, uses the facilities, and behaves differently than we do?

I met two cats once. Their names are Gus and Oreo. When I met them and got to know them, I must admit that I forgot about what my dog-friends said about cats. I just wanted to play with them. Because cats know how to jump and climb a lot better than I can, we had great chases together around the house. I took a bit of their food from their Food Dish and, I must say, it did not taste as bad as I had heard it would taste. Even though the cats showed me where they use the facilities, I just could not bring myself to use that little box, but I was determined to respect their wishes to use the box whenever they needed to. Most importantly, because cats are such great sleepers, we had the best nap together! Did you know they purr when they are content and sleepy? It was a nice sound and it put me right to sleep.

Getting back to what I think of interspecies relationships. Yes, I am all for it. I would like a friendship with a cat. We all share this world together, and I just don't think there is just one and only way to communicate, eat, use the facilities, sleep, or move around. We're all different. We don't need to focus upon what is different between us. Instead, we ought to know we are different, accept each other anyway, and try to learn from each other.

Take some time to walk in someone else's paws for a day and I think you, too, will have a change of heart. I hope my dog-friends will do that, too.

Thought for You Humans:
Is there something around you that claims to be the best and the only way of being and doing things? Is it political? Religious? Personal?

What harm does such a claim do to you, your family, your colleagues, your school? How can humans do a better job at trying to focus upon what we have in common, rather than upon what drives us apart?

Hoarding Tendencies

Hello. My name is Thunder and I am a hoarder.

A hoarder is someone who likes to hide his treasures. For instance, I hide these treasures of mine:

(1) Bones. Every night I must put away Bone that I hide from mom and from anyone else who may come to our house. I also have Bone that I hide when I visit my Human Friends' house, but with them it has become a game. They don't know where I am going to hide Bone, so sometimes I hide in the basement, on the treadmill, under the ironing board, or even in their bedrooms. Once I hid Bone on the basement stairs, but then I learned that wasn't too safe.

(2) Food. I hide Food under the couch, and my hidden stash always surprises mom when she vacuums. Then she makes me eat Food and then I have to go back to Food Dish and get more Food to hide under the couch.

(3) Sticks. A dog can't have enough sticks! So I gather sticks and hide them in my yard and our front porch so other dogs and birds and squirrels and bunnies cannot chew them up and so I have something to chew on when I'm allowed to sit outside by myself (on a leash, of course!).

Does hoarding have to be a bad thing? I don't think so! I must hide Bone and Food in case I would ever experience a famine. By hoarding them, I would have a hidden cache of things to eat. And my sticks, well, I must save up my sticks so I can take great delight in a nice sunny day and lie in the shade and chew my sticks and keep an eye on the neighborhood and watch out for anyone who might want my Bones, Food, and sticks.

I may be a hoarder, but I am a practical hoarder.

Thought for you humans:
What are your hidden treasures?  Why do you keep them hidden? Are you ready to let go of any? If not, what holds you back from doing so?

Eye Disease

I have Conjunctivitis.

My eyes are very red and are oozing some very green goop. I had to visit Dog-Doctor the other day because my eyes were not getting any better and I just don't look as handsome when I have green goop sliding down my nose. Dog-Doctor looked in my eyes with a flashlight and decided I have Conjunctivitis. I had to sit very still when Dog-Doctor checked my eyes. I guess I did really well because Dog-Doctor gave me a treat when she turned off her flashlight!

Dog-Doctor and Mom said I caught Conjunctivitis from the dirt in the snowbanks. Everytime I am outside I must stick my head in the snowbanks and smell all the critters living and dead.

Dog-Doctor and Mom want me to stop putting my head into the snowbanks so I won't get Conjunctivitis again in the future. I told them that I would think about it but, between you and me, I know I just cannot stop!

So now Mom has to put eye drops in my eyes three times a day.

Even though I can't stop putting my head in snowbanks because doing so will force me to be less of a dog than I am meant to be, I will be careful to stay away from any dirt so it doesn't get into my eyes anymore and give me Conjunctivitis.

Thought for you humans:
What is in your eye that keeps you from seeing things so clearly? In other words, what are your prejudices, stereotypes, and ideologies that ooze from your eyes and get in your way of dealing with people in positive ways?

Heaven is Like...

Many of  you humans believe there is a Heaven. I am told that Heaven is a place where God and the angels and all holy people live. While you humans have many opinions of what Heaven is really like and of how humans can actually get yourselves back to Heaven, one thing is for certain: Heaven is a wonderful place, a paradise, beautiful and calming for everyone who is there.

How would I describe Heaven? For me, as a 7-month old puppy, Heaven is like Dog Park the day after a giant snowstorm! There are zillions of dogs there for me to chase, play with, and with whom to share a stick. Some of us wear coats and sweaters to keep our fur warm; others wear little booties to keep our paws dry.

We have snowball fights by tossing snow up in the air with our noses!

We play "King of the Mountain" by chasing each other up and down the snowy hills!

We play Tug on each other's coats and sweaters!

We dig big holes and bury our toys in the snow, only to dig them back up again a few minutes later! You should see all the snow fly when we are digging so fast and furious!

We have "Who Can Eat the Most Snow (Except Yellow Snow)" contests!

We play "Hide and Seek" in the snow drifts! More often than not, our wagging tails give our location away!

Some of us run on the paths made by each other's pawprints in the snow; others make our own paths!

We Dog-Sled by sliding down snowy hills on our tummies!

When we lie on our backs, we make Snow-Dog Angels! Our flimsy legs and paws dance in the air!

Most importantly, we help each other take off the clumps of snow that accumulate on our paws and our fur.

So, my kith and kin, while you humans try to determine who can get to Heaven, I am just going to enjoy my own idea of Heaven: a playful paradise made of snow!

Thought for you humans:
What is your Heaven? What brings you pure delight?

My First Report Card

I got my very first report card the other day. My human friends--Stella, Miriam, AJ, and Marie--were the ones who thought it would be a great idea to create a character assessment of the first six months of my life. Here is my report card:

Character Trait          Grade          Comments
Obedience                      A               Responds with alacrity (especially to "treat")

Courtesty                       A+             Includes all in his leaps and licks attention

Hygiene                          B+             Regularly washes ears and face in Water Dish

Neatness                        C+              Does not return toys to Toy Box

Concentration                 A               Fiercely attentive to doors and food

Friendliness                    A+             Tongue and tail always say, "I like you."

Effort                             A+               Aims high (especially to reach the table)

Perseverance                  A+               Relentless in games of Tug

Comments
Thunder's area of greatest improvement is his response to discipline regarding the begging for food at the table. He manifests good self-image and future leadership potential in the canine world.

My Rebuttal
Regarding the C+ in Neatness: I don't see the importance of having to put my toys in the Toy Box. Mom does that for me every day. And when she does, I just take them out so I have them ready for playtime. What is the purpose of putting away toys when I want to play with them?

Regarding the B+ in Hygiene: The grade I was given is a bit low. Not only do I clean my face and ears in Water Dish, but I also smell very good. Everyday I go outside and roll in dead squirrel, dead bird, or dead frog. I'll even roll in other animals' feces. So a dog with clean ears, clean face, and who smells really good ought to receive at least an A in this category.

Thought for you humans:
What honest assessment can you give yourself? What are your strengths? Your weaknesses? How can you make your strengths even stronger?

A Monster Under the Bed!

There's a monster under mom's bed! A real-life monster!

I love to play hide-and-seek with Mom. She'll say, "Where's Thunder?" Then I'll scoot myself under Mom's bed and close my eyes really tightly so Mom doesn't see me. She will keep calling me over and over again--"Thunder?? Thunder?? Where are you?--until finally she gets the bright idea to look under the bed.

When she looks under the bed and finds me and says, "There's my Thunder!," I open my eyes, wag my tail, and scoot back out from under the bed. Then we'll play a little bit until she says, "Where's Thunder?" and the whole game starts all over again.

Except the other day, I wasn't the only one under the bed. There was a monster there.

When Mom said her usual, "Where's Thunder?" and I scooted myself under the bed, the monster bit me on the tummy. I felt it and I yelped and scooted really fast back out from under the bed. I sat in Mom's lap and wimpered. She gave me lots of hugs and kisses as I tried to explain to her that there is a big monster under the bed. It is a big, scary, hairy, and furry monster that growls and slobbers and bites really hard!

Mom looked under the bed and said she couldn't see the monster. I told her, "Of course not! The monster can only be seen with dog-eyes!"

I was too scared to go back under the bed. I still am too scared to go under there.

But Mom believes me that there is a monster under the bed and we are trying to figure out how to get rid of under-the-bed-monsters. Do you have any ideas? I really want to play Hide-and-Seek with Mom, but I cannot until we get rid of the monster. I want to tell the monster that under the bed is my place to play, not its place!

Thought for you humans:
Of what are you afraid today? Is your fear real or based upon make believe?

The Joy of Waiting

It is not easy to wait for anything when you are a six-month old puppy like me!

Advent is a time of waiting. It is an important four weeks for Christians as they prepare their hearts and homes and wait to celebrate Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ.

So I am learning to wait for Christmas, too. There is now a big tree in in my favorite corner of the living room where I love to take my naps. The tree is decorated with pretty bulbs and little lights. I'm not supposed to go near the tree, so I've got to wait until after Christmas when mom puts away the tree until I can take my naps in my favorite corner of the house.

Outside, there is a wonderful place in my yard that turns into a puddle of water whenever the sump pump goes off. I love slurping up the water that comes out of the sump pump hose! But now, because the weather here in Wisconsin is so very cold, the water turns into ice as soon as comes out. I've got to wait until the weather warms up before I can slurp up the water again.

The other day, when Mom and I were out walking, I discovered a dog toy. It is orange and black and filthy and torn up and full of dog slobber. Mom says it's a toy only a dog would love. I proudly carried that new dog toy with me for the remainder of our walk.

When we got close to our house, I took a little detour and went to my neighbor's house. In warm weather, my neighbor, Connie, likes to plant pretty flowers alongside her house. Now that it is cold outside, there are no flowers, just delicious dirt! So I went over by the dirt and, with the new dog toy hanging from my mouth, I promptly dug a nice hole in the dirt. The dirt felt cold, but it was still gooey and most importantly, very messy! I got dirt all over my paws and my face.

When the hole was dug, I gently placed that dog toy into the hole and then I used my nose to cover it up with more dirt. The dirt became a blanket to keep my new dog toy warm!

Then I sat down and looked at mom and said to her, "Now I've got to wait until springtime when Connie digs up her garden and discovers this dog toy! I can't wait until Connie finds it! It will be such a surprise!"

"Oh, it will be a great surprise!" Mom said.

That's the funny thing with waiting...at first it can be annoying, like having to find a new corner to take my naps or not being able to slurp up sump pump water when I want to, but then waiting can be very exciting because there can be many surprises that come along!

It's still not easy waiting for anything when you are a puppy. But this Advent, I am going to try to find the hidden blessings and surprises that times like Advent bring!

Thought for you humans:
How do you deal with waiting? Are you impatient? Are you calm enough to be open to new surprises?