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December 12, 2007
Furry Relationships
As you know I have a pug named Guido who is three years old and a cat named Church who is nine. Both of these names came from books. Guido was one of the characters in the Anne Rice book Cry to Heaven. The name Church came from Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. If you click on that link and look at the cover, don’t think that our Church is like that. He is a very docile creature until it is feeding time; then he turns into a meowing freak! All of a sudden around 10:30 AM he starts speaking to me. If I move ever so slightly in my chair, he thinks I am getting up and going to the kitchen. This sets off some trigger in his small head which he cannot control or turn off.
The same thing happens around 10:30 PM. At this time it is Kevin’s turn to be barraged with his constant meowing. If Kevin so much as moves a foot, Church sees this as a sign that Kevin is getting up and therefore needs to feed him. He can be quite vocal when he wants to be.
I do talk to both Church and Guido. I cannot imagine having a pet and not talking to him/her. That would seem like an oddity to me. I will freely admit that I don’t talk to Church near as much as I talk to Guido. Church doesn’t have his own voice to me either. Guido has a voice and I speak in this voice and talk for him. He has a sweet, little voice, but he can get feisty when he wants. He has definite opinions about things. His favorite thing to do with me besides taking a walk is taking naps. Guido and I both love a good nap!
Kevin and I don’t plan to have any more pets. We are firm believers that there is a responsibility that comes with having a pet. It can be as long as eighteen years and in our book, that is a serious commitment. We believe now that once our time of commitment is up, we will want to have a bit more freedom. Right now, we definitely don’t have that freedom.
I don’t like leaving Guido for over six hours. He is not used to this, so I don’t believe it would be fair to him to all of a sudden make him hold his bladder for that long. When we go shopping on the weekends, I feel a responsibility/tug of love to come home after a certain length of time. I feel very guilty when we leave him for more than four hours.
If I had it my way, he would be allowed to go everywhere with me as long as he was in some sort of carrier. I could very easily buy one of those packs that moms and dads wear to hold their baby’s close to them on their chest. I would definitely have one of these if the stores would allow it. In my world, dogs would be allowed in every store as long as they were in a stroller or carrier. Take a look at THIS carrier. This is what I’m talking about! Do you think there’s any chance I could smuggle Guido in Wal-Mart in one of these carriers if I had a blanket over his head?
Kevin would have a total fit!
Oh, but you see, Guido IS my baby now. Some readers will not understand this, but I cannot explain it.
I believe cats are smarter than dogs; however I love my dog more. I am a horrible mom, but there; I’ve admitted it! He is my friend and he shows love. I know Church loves me and I think he has shown this more since Guido has been here. It’s like he has to prove something now, but he still doesn’t jump all over me and tell me how much he missed me and how mad he is that I was away so long and ask why I didn’t talk him along.
Guido has not been trained to sit, roll over, or do any extraordinary thing. When you come to this house, you better plan to be jumped on, licked, and get hair all over your clothes. He breaths heavy, sneezes, snores, and wants nothing more than attention. He wants to be noticed and loved. If you come to my house and you speak to him harshly, my opinion of you will be nil. Yes, it has happened or I wouldn’t be mentioning it.
Someone said that pugs are the clowns of the dog world and I believe this to be true. He is a wonderful companion who gives unconditional love. Cleaning poop out of the yard (when we actually clean it up), vet bills, hair everywhere, coming home early, food bills – it is all worth it because I love him.
Posted by tami at December 12, 2007 12:04 AM
Comments
my only comment about taking pets everywhere, is that some people are allergic. (other than that I wouldn't care.)
Posted by: ellice at December 12, 2007 5:48 AM
You and I share the exact same views on our Pugs. Norman also has a voice, and I talk through it. LOL! Aren't we nuts? My husband does it sometimes too. Norman's voice is very sassy though. He's a sassy little man! When my little man leaves me some day, I don't know if I'll get another pet or not. On one hand, it hurts so much to lose them - is the pain you feel when you lose a pet worth the joy you have while the pet is alive? I'm not sure. On the other hand, it will be so strange not having a pet around. I hope I don't have to make that decision for a long time! He can certainly be a burden, and I wish he could go to stores and such with us too, but I just love him so much! I can't imagine life without him.
Posted by: Tammy at December 12, 2007 9:28 AM
I baby talk to Bob. I don't know why, but I do. I'm positive he thinks I'm insane. I wish I could take Bob with us when we go out too; I also feel guilty when we're gone for long periods of time. He's pretty good about holding his bladder though. I mainly feel guilty because I'm afraid he might get lonely.
Posted by: Stacey at December 12, 2007 11:01 AM
My mom swears our cat Bubba says out when he wants to go. he has not used the litter box since he was little and we have had him not for 10 years. we were not going to get another pet when he showed up either because we had just put our cat to sleep becuase she had breast cancer. i would not trade him for the world. now Baby is another story. she is just one of those cats that keeps going back and doing something she has already gotten in trouble for a hundred times! she was a drop off too....i think they have our house pegged!
Posted by: deanna at December 12, 2007 2:58 PM
My grandma and grandpa had a saying, "dogs are good people". That about sums it up, I think.
Our girls curl up together on the dog bed in the bathroom when we're gone and keep each other company, so we don't feel too guilty about leaving them. We do worry about how Emma's going to do when Sarah dies someday; Emma's very attached to Sarah and freaks out if made to stay by herself. She's been bunking with Sarah since she was a little puppy, first in a huge crate, and then in the bathroom.
I've been reading your posts every day, but am just now catching up on commenting. I tend to read blogs on my phone, at night, before I go to sleep. The whole commenting process is a PITA on the phone, so I always mean to do it later from the laptop....But then I forget!
Posted by: Kimberley Broyles at December 18, 2007 8:38 AM