Blue-Eyed Cat Turns Green-Eyed

Remember yesterday’s post when I thought dogs’ emotions are not that complicated? Well, I forgot about cats. Today, I think Dakota showed signs of jealousy. I was in the kitchen, Singer was on a couch, while Dakota was behind her on his usual post. I was blowing kisses and saying what a good girl Singer is, then Dakota looked up and I said what a good boy he is. I won’t tell you what I call him…okay, okay, I call him: zboo-boo-loo-boo-noo-boo! (I suppose I’ve turned off more than a few readers now.) So anyway, I started sending kisses his way, and he responded with blinking at me, then he suddenly jumped off his perch and jumped up on Singer, then veered off on the top of the couch. It was a mock attack. This all happened so fast, Singer hardly turned her head before it was over. Jealousy, I fear. So, cats are more complicated than dogs! No harm was done, but Dakota’s message was clear:  “I don’t like you saying sweet nothings to nobody but me!”

I can just about project anything I want onto these animals, and who’s to say I’m wrong? Pretty sweet deal, if you ask me…

On today’s walk, Singer and I encountered an older woman walking her two Labradoodle puppies—one black, one cream. Very cute! A few feet away, she bent down to make sure they sat while we passed. Singer hardly paid any attention to them, and I smiled at her and mentioned how cute they were. Like a mom that she is, she was paying attention to her “children”, making sure that they were obedient and not getting up from their sit. I thought about that as Singer walked on by. We humans spend so much time and effort to get our dogs to live with us in an acceptable manner. Some adhere to our rules, some don’t. Singer is an adherer. But then she has been brought up within an environment that also honors a dog’s nature, where she can run and hunt and be wild and free. I appreciate that. She has a centeredness that I believe is the result of this upbringing. No neurosis living in too much confinement, without the ability to express her animal side. Perfect balance. I hope to find venues where she will be able to run wild and free. At the moment, I don’t know where that might be, since I fear dog parks right now. Saylor was fine, she walked alongside us and no dogs ever attacked her. But Singer might run too far and fast, away from my sight, and then I’m not sure about the other dogs. I may regret that she may never have the chance to really run wild and free again, but will she? Who knows?

BTW, today I changed the paragraph under the banner of my blog to be more specific about its purpose. I intend to write about canine/human relationships, provide interesting insights into this experience of bonding with the animals (hopefully) and just be entertaining for a year. It makes me sweat a little trying to think how I can make this interesting for a whole year, but I’m gonna try! Keep me honest and tell me when it doesn’t work, okay? 

I had to get this shot, even though you can't really see it very well. As you who have been following this blog know, Singer is obsessed with squirrels. Today's squirrel, in the crook of the tree, has a red tail! It must be Irish, Singer is thinking.