By: Hettie Basil Lighttower

Are you a dog person or a cat person? Or maybe you are just an animal lover in general. Or maybe you are more into birds, reptiles or God forbid even spiders. Not I. Pets are very important to most people. A few people in my life have not really liked animals. And others like them but refuse to let them in the house. But most people I know or associate with, haha, have either cats or dogs and love them like a person. Why are pets important? Let me count the ways……
For the purpose of this visit, we will mostly focus on cats and dogs. That is what I know the most about. I am not a reptile person or bird person, although I have met a few of each in my life that I was quite intrigued by. I prefer pets I can pet and who like to be petted.
Some cats act more like dogs. Some dogs act more like cats. Some cats and dogs like to be cuddled, some do not. They have as many personalities and talents and preferences as people do, probably even more so. They come in all colors, shapes and sizes. Some smell good, others do not. There’s nothing worse than a smelly dog and everything in your house smelling like a smelly dog. I am more of a dog person but I cannot have a smelly dog. My dog has to smell good or get a bath very often. Smells matter to me. People have to smell good too. Haha…. Now you all will be self conscious about how you smell when you see me next. Don’t worry, I expect the same from myself.
There are advantages to having cats and there are advantages to having dogs. Goodness, it is pick your poison or should I say, pick your chores or disadvantages when you choose a pet. Many times pets choose YOU! Ever have a stray cat or dog show up at your door? It could happen. I have two cats and one dog. The cats both “showed up” at my door. The story goes a little like this…..
There was a feral cat that had three little kittens in a hollow tree on my property. We took the kittens in as they were weaned already. We found a home for one. Each of my kids liked the opposite of of the two left. So of course, I had to keep both. One of the kittens liked to go outside a lot. She would come in but go to the door and want out soon after (we got both spade). One day she did not come back. We alerted our neighbors to be on the lookout for her. A few weeks later, a neighbor brings a kind-of-calico cat to us that looked mostly starved and asked, “Is this your kitty?” No. But we took it in to nurse it back to health. I was not home at the time, in fact I was a 12 hour drive away. But Dr. DooLittle, aka my son, informed me that we now have another cat. So, he went to work on making it better. And my tender hearted not-a-teenager yet daughter named it “Precious”. Princess was the lone survivor of the three little kittens. So, now we have Princess and Precious, both named by my daughter. My son’s kitty of preference was the one that liked to go outside and then didn’t come back. We were sad that we never saw CAT again. Yes, her name was CAT, but we pronounced it phonetically as if the name was Ciayti.
I recently visited a friend of mine who has a new kitty. This kitty is all black with shiny green eyes. His name is Sirius, like the star. He has the softest fur I think I have ever felt. It is so soft as if it melts into your fingers. “It feels like bunny fur!”, I said when I petted him. And then I remembered chinchillas are even softer although I have never felt one. I would imagine Sirius would give a chinchilla a run for his money in the fur department.
And this reminds me that I have a cousin who had a litter box trained bunny rabbit in their home. So, I guess I left out the fact that folks can also have guinea pigs, bunnies, mice, rats, and chinchillas as pets. I was being a little narrow minded in the pet department when I first sat down to write. I am sure I have left other animals out…..as I now am thinking of monkeys, pot belly pigs and small goats that I have known people to have in their homes. We can make a pet out of just about anything can’t we? I’m sticking to cats and dogs, with a lean towards dogs.
Next time I will get into all the ways pets help us and make our lives better. They even make us healthier!! I will explain how. In the meantime, love your little pet of preference and know that it is making a better life for you.
Send in your notions and comments to [email protected]. I will include them in the next available column as per their arrival relative to the publication deadline of Tuesday by 12 p.m. of the same week. If you wish to be anonymous let me know. Kindness is contagious~*