Wayne and Kate’s three pets don’t have a worry in the world, even during a pandemic. Their fur children feel loved, are well fed, and relax into near coma states because they feel secure. Why can’t humans attain pet Zen?
To keep things copacetic, the couple each adopted their dream dog. They wanted non-shedding dogs thus they have Koko, an oversized Royal Standard. When he arrived he was small enough to fit into Wayne’s hand, but now takes up one third of their bed. Their Afghan, Daizy, (which sounds like lazy), can be found most days and nights hogging the couple’s bed, with or without her human parents present. Yes, the dream dogs don’t shed, but their 18-year-old kitty, Sasha, makes up for it by
tenfold.
Caution on entering this pet zone: Sasha, their Siamese-speed bump suns himself on the stairs and Koko hinders the back door maintaining his ever-present lookout for squirrels.
“Our animals are great buddies who respect each other's space. They get along beautifully which makes for a calm home,” said Wayne. “Sasha and Daizy cuddle on the dog bed, neither takes over or bumps the other out. As you can imagine, the cat has thought about it. He tosses a condescending look at Daizy, but the Golden House Rule of peace purr-vails.
A peak into their living room is like a Hallmark scene with the two- and four-legged family bunched up on the couch like a pack of intertwined puppies contentedly watching nightly TV. This is where Sasha deems it necessary to lick Wayne’s head until his hair is soaking wet and the skin is raw.
Koko, at seven years of age, STILL thinks he is a lap dog. Yes, he is well behaved and trained but he weighs 85 pounds! Their eight-year-old Daizy stretches crossways over their bed at night with her head on Wayne’s.
Sasha is more subtle as he sneaks alongside his parents when they are sleeping, and is always touching them. The family had to paw-chase a King size bed, but there is still no room. Some nights, so as not to disturb his sleeping family, Wayne carefully climbs out of bed and goes to another room to sleep on his own. He is afraid that the heat generated by all that animal fur might cause him to self-combust or mysteriously disintegrate.
Daizy has a bad habit of waking and lovingly demanding head bumps from her parents at 3 A.M. As her reward, she will accept ear rubs.
“I pretend I am asleep but she is insistent,” said Wayne. “Last night, she almost gave up and as she lay back down, she heavily threw herself at my back. It was a not so subtle, ‘Hey. Are you awake?’ move on her part. I rolled over laughing and rubbed her ears. Then Daizy peacefully goes back to sleep while Kate and I, who are wide awake, try and remember how to fall asleep, like we did before we had dogs.”
Then two hours later, Daizy reawakens and begins her ritualistic nightly zooming around their bedroom like a crazy demon. To make up for her late-night exercise she goes back to bed to sleep in, of course.
Sasha keeps in Wayne’s good graces by volunteering as office help. The cat insists on sitting and purring on ‘staff’s’ shoulder as Wayne immerses himself in computer research.
“Just like Sasha does, Daizy also thinks we must smell like each other. So after each shower she rubs me, scenting me, announcing to the world that I am hers. My wife is not too jealous, yet,” said Wayne.
Last week, Wayne took a rare afternoon nap and woke up as a dog sandwich wedged in by two large dogs.
“I love pets, but sometimes I think they are plotting against us in a pet takeover because they share our lives, our house, our food, our bed and sometimes they want it all for themselves!”