I’m being stared at by two sets of eyes, soon to be three, as I try to work in my home office.  It’s getting dark early now, being winter and that signals “dinner time” to the dogs – and now the kitten who just chimes in to follow their lead – and it’s only 4 pm…

Even though I’m distracted often with a bark, letting me know a neighbor is heading to my door or possibly the UPS guy is dropping off a package or penetrating eyes tell me that a walk might be just what I need, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I can’t remember back to when I didn’t have a pet in the house.  We grew up with a dog, who lived to be almost 17 in addition to hampsters, fish, turtles, Guinea pigs and more.  I’ve had 4 dogs since my original childhood dog, 2 are still with me now and all have been black and white, and all part lab.  I don’t go looking for that, they just find me and that seems to be the best way – they choose me.  I’ve actually “found” many of my really good friends through my dogs, either at dog parks or in the neighborhood.  I walk my dogs a few times a day and of course, I gravitate towards others with dogs – it’s a thing.  I feel that when someone has a dog or a cat, or really any kind of a pet that they care for, that says a lot of good things about that person, they have compassion for others – another good thing.

I had two cats in the past that I saved from a shelter when I lived in Colorado and they grew up with my lab mix.  I think my brother sums it up best by stating that they were actually “dogs in cat suits”.  I don’t think they ever realized that they were cats because they never saw any other cats.  They didn’t purr much at all, they didn’t jump on furniture or counters, they sat and waited for their food, with the dog and they came when I called them – yup, small dogs in catsuits, perfect.  I was a bartender at the time, so I had themed pet names – my dog was Remy and the cats were Baily and Martell.  I later sold wine and had Jordan the dog and Simi the cat.  I found my cat “Putter” in a rabbit hole living with bunnies, on a putting green at a golf course.  I came across Piccolo the kitten – which means small in Italian because I was visiting a friend in Oregon and her cat had 4 kittens an hour before I arrived.  I had been thinking about finding a new cat since my dogs grew up with a cat, so I guess the saying is true “timing is everything”.  She just loves her big dog brothers and they tolerate her – it’s my free entertainment 🙂

I call this group of mine, my little entourage because they go almost everywhere with me – I do have some fish, but they tend to stay at home, the tank would be much too difficult to move around – lol. Packing up the 2 dogs and a kitten is similar I’m sure to packing up a bunch of kids.  Half of my car is their stuff- dog bed, food, toys, snacks, cat carrier, cat box, food, toys – you get the picture.  I could leave them at home and have someone else come in and take care of them, but I prefer to have them with me – they are family, they make me happy. 

I find that some of my best photos are due to going on a walk or a new hike with the dogs – they stop to smell the roses – literally – which makes me stop and look at things I ordinarily wouldn’t have.  Some of my best homes are also due to dogs, I can’t rent in most places with pets, so I purchase homes with yards and then I landscape and garden as well – also a good thing.  My “guys” enrich my life and I can’t imagine it differently.  They add to my “small simple slow” by forcing me to slow down and enjoy the small and simple pleasures – which we do, every day!!