Dammit–

Jack gets in over the wire again in time – –

The latest member of the household is beginning to make a nuisance of himself. When ‘Wee Dammit’ first arrived, he lived in our guest room before getting a full medical examination to be sure he was safe around other cats. When he got the all-clear, we left the door open, but he was very reluctant to come down to join us. After all, we had kidnapped him from his happy street life….

That has all changed now. We can’t get him to leave us alone. Which is funny, because at first, he only would interact with us when we were lying flat, in bed. That’s how he learned to get along with Wendy the first week he was in the house; she slept upstairs to socialize him, and he grew accustomed to playing with her feet. When she stood up, he would dive for the nearest dark corner.

So when he first came down, he just slunk around, staying away from all of us and hiding in corners.

Then he discovered Bruce!

With two female cats in the house what’s a guy going to do? He wants to play with the other guy, but the other guy is a dog and is BIG. So wee Dammit runs around the house now trying to play tag with Bruce! He runs back and forward, tapping Bruce’s tail and paws, but Bruce is the most laid back dog on the planet and can’t be bothered. He’s very patient and gives Dammit a weary look now and again—just before Dammit bops him on the nose.

So now Dammit finds Wendy’s balls of yarn and carries them all around the house as though they were captured mice. Eventually I find them, soggy with saliva (we hope), and return them to their original place.

But I can hear you asking – why is he called Dammit? A few months ago Wendy was heading to the store and saw a small kitten wandering around an intersection. She happened to have a cat carrier in the car (well, of course) but couldn’t get it in. She came home and got a can of cat food. While he was eating she snatched him up and said, “Dammit, get in the car.”

We had agreed to not have any more cats for a while, so when she brought in another one I said, “DAMMIT.”

And she said, “I totally agree.”

When I took him to the animal clinic to get checked over they asked what his name was – – –

Come back next Wednesday for more from Jack

Our Pets Can Teach Us

Jack is a day late and a dollar short with his guest post this week – – –

In contemplating how everyday life has changed for us and most other folks, I’ve been observing how it goes on pretty much normally for our pets.

Bruce2

Our rescue dog Bruce has always been happy to get his exercise running around our big backyard and spend the rest of his time sleeping in his favorite bed. Every now and again he gets walked up and down the alley beside our house where he can enjoy different smells and that continues normally too.

Our cats are used to going in and out at will and know to stick to the yard or close by. So no real change for them either. It’s true that our most recent cat recruit, Buddy, has some health issues and that has meant a couple of vet visits. The arrangements for attending the clinic are a bit different, but I don’t suppose Buddy notices!

Our neighborhood dogs are all being walked as usual, although their humans are observing social distancing rules, but again I don’t suppose the pets notice much difference.

Our previous canine and feline friends probably knew the contrast between work days and weekends when we had the bookstore in Big Stone Gap, but when we moved here to Wytheville our routines changed. I finally really retired and Wendy worked much more from home. So our new ‘brood’ only recognized this new regime for us which likely won’t seem to change much from day to day for them.

Oh that it was as simple for us –

We are usually pretty social and sociable types, but now there are no weekends away, no shared meals with friends, no unannounced droppings in. Days tend to be much the same regardless whether it’s a weekday or a weekend. We do pay more attention to our neighbors than before but always while observing social distancing and our careful quarantine rules. I suspect that our pets see little difference for now, while we are beginning to get a bit ‘stir crazy’. It’s beginning to dawn on me that we won’t be going back to ‘normal’ for a long time, if ever.

Perhaps we can learn something from our animal friends?