I’ve been one of those people who say ‘one cat, that’s all. Absolutely no more cats belong in the house.’
Okay, but what do you do when your daughter begs and begs for her own precious kitten. Well, what I did is not what you are expecting, I didn’t say yes and I didn’t say no, but I did say “Go ask your Dad,” so now you know what happened.
Our docile, completely trainable Dreamboy, a big, fluffy cat, became ‘uncle’ to an absolute rascal. How in the world do you train a feline that seems to be part monkey and part flying acrobat, to stay off the furniture to say nothing of the counters and table? Well, I tried, and am trying with the assistance of a tiny water sprayer. It helps: sorta. That is while I am around. But
That is not the end of the story.
Good old Sheba died. Our meek and gentle, friendly part Golden Retriever is out ‘rabbit hunting’ as it were, and won’t be coming back, and now I was left with a hole in my heart. I didn’t even know how much I would miss her until the days, then weeks just kept ticking by.
In my heart of hearts I knew no one would replace Sheba except one with a similar nature and hey, we found him! Beagles are pleasingly similar to Goldens in temperament.
.
As close as we can figure the little guy we chose was born very close to the time Sheba passed. (Oh, sorry, I got that wrong, he chose me.)
Ok, but what sensible human would have a menagerie in the house, pray-tell? Not I naturally, or would I? How could you leave such a tiny adorable puppy outside in the cold and the dark? He might get lonely, or worse yet, lost.
So when Rusty romped in to join the kitty pair there’s a cautious eyeing of each other for a while but of course that lively rambunctious kitten of our daughter’s soon wants to play, and, well, let’s just say that things got pretty lively until Dreamboy decided to investigate. He is nicknamed ‘Uncle’ and he tolerated his role more or less towards Hercules, but along comes this blundering scamp who is ‘picking on’ his charge.
Last night Dreamboy was pacing around on top of the coffee table ready to give the guileless puppy a lesson with those sharp claws of his because there was a dog and cat fight going on at his feet. This was getting interesting; we never knew ‘uncle’ would feel that loyal to the little nuisance that had invaded his peaceful existence.
What would happen to Rusty? Would he learn not to be so rough when the kitten’s guardian is around? Nope! In his happy go lucky way he was off to other adventures before ‘uncle’ had a chance to swipe.
Be careful little guy, you’re precious to me. God knew just who I needed to fill that aching void in my heart, and since you bounced into the scene, I’m healing up pretty rapidly.
not exactly as illustrated
P.S. Yes, even though the dog is smart and catches on very quickly, I am glad we have laminated flooring.
Nope they aren't the same dog, they're google images but which one can I remove?
