<<The dog loves cats and wouldn't hurt one, even while playing. We were always amazed at how he somehow knew to play very gentle with her.>>
After losing our cat of 15 years and dog of 13 years within six months of each other, we went without either pet for a while. The dog, a shepard-lab mix, was toughest. Although we lived in a subdivision that frowned on letting any animal run loose, Shadow was welcomed by everyone. We could always tell which house our son was at by looking for the dog: he would follow and remain until the boy came out. Both were family members that grew up along with the kids. The dog and cat tolerated each other, but never really got along.
On to the better stuff. Our current cat (who I call runt face) and dog (who my wife named Little Bit and who I sometimes rename as little *hit) could use some counseling: the cat thinks he is a dog and the dog thinks she is a cat. The cat came first but the dog joined as a puppy. They roll on the ground together playing as though they were both cats. They chase each other throughout the house as though they were both dogs. I grew up around dogs and cats (my parents once had 18 cats, but that's another story) and have never seen a dog and cat play like this. The dog can play pretty rough, but cat just comes back for more: frequently the cat is the instigator. The cat (10-12 pounds) just does not seem to care that the dog (60 pounds) could squash him at will. On the other hand, the dog does not seem to realize that she could seriously hurt the cat: which, I suppose, is a natural byproduct of thinking she is a cat.
Son (now 11) and the cat play chase too. First, son will chase cat, who will run like the dickens, then son will run and cat will chase until son is out-of-breath. Have seen lots of cats, but never one like this. It makes for a lot of laughs.
Hope the images at least generated a small smile.
Troy |
