Cats Versus Dogs

I have to start right out letting everyone know that I am a dog person, but because of Jeremy Lawrence ( yes, I am blaming him ) I started thinking about the whole cats versus dogs thing, and I am not sure if I am 100 percent in the dog corner anymore.

So Jeremy and I sparked up another one our weird conversations.  This usually happens in the news room, but mostly it's about politics.  Today, he started telling me some story about how the Mayan calendar is not going to end on December 21st, 2012 according to an article he read on the Fox News website.  How we moved from that to a discussion about cats versus dogs, I will never know, but Jeremy Lawrence is a dog man, but he had some really great points about cats.

When I was six years old, this little black kitten wandered into our yard, and I begged my mother to keep her.  She said it would be up to my father.  He outright refused.  He did agree to let her sleep over one night, and after that he saw how much I loved that cat, and that was that!  The shame of it all?  I can't even remember her name.  What I do remember is that my mother was right.....she was pregnant not to long after, and I was overjoyed!  A momma cat and three baby kittens!  Thus began my love affair with cats.  I still love them.

Fast forward to the year 2000 and the movie by Disney called, "The Kid".  See, I had yearned for a dog for years after the many litters of my first cat, but after all those kittens, my sister's bird, the hamsters and a long menagerie of pets, my mother had put her foot down.  She had to give away our first dog (when I was two) to a very loving family because I kept pulling her tail!  After a while, she didn't like it, and she showed me, so it was so long "Tofile".  ( I don't know where they got that name ).

So I harbored this passion for a dog, and after the World Trade Center bombings, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, I was reminded of how life can change on a dime.  God didn't have children in my future, but Buddy was coming.  I took a friend's advice and went to a rescue program.  Buddy and I fell in love instantly!  He was thrown on the side of the street in Broussard.  He was found, nearly starved to death, and he had tons of issues.  He had worms, a skin bacteria and messed up leg joints....he was perfect!  He has been my constant companion ever since, and I have spoiled him rotten.  I would have ruined a child if Buddy is any evidence of all the things he gets a way with.

So I love dogs!  But, Lawrence made some interesting comments this morning (he is a dog lover too), and it got me to thinking.  He pointed out, cats have the best life, and if we believed in reincarnation, then Jeremy is right, we should come back as cats.  They don't need leashes, someone feeds them, is nice to them, they own anywhere they go, they do whatever they want, they nap all day, and as if it isn't easy enough to be them....someone cleans out the litter box every few days.  Dogs have to be on a leash, you have to poop & scoop every single time, and when you don't want to play they don't care. I was starting to think this cat thing might be the way to go.  They might be easier to take care, and hey, maybe cats are less trouble.

So, maybe if I am reincarnated ( I am not into that ) I should come back as a cat, it seems so much easier....this is what I was thinking when I left the office today.  I know, big thoughts right?  Then the tie breaker hit me as I turned the lock on my home.......there he was, the epitome of unconditional love!  Buddy The Wonder Mutt! My whole mind changed in that instant! Ha, cats only love you when THEY want love! Cats are NOT good snugglers!  Cats are not going to know when your sad, heck they won't even care!  So, in the end the dogs win.

Dogs win! Dogs win!  But, I am always going to have a soft spot for kittens.  I have a kitten sort of.  She belongs to the neighbor, but she loves to sneak into my house, and let me pet her.  What can I say?  I am just a GIANT squish ball.  Send me your love story ( dog or cat ) at bernie@kpel965.com.  I want to read your stories and see your pictures.  Thank heaven for pets!