May 11, 2013
-
The Difference Between Cats and Dogs
Most of my life I have been a cat person. Cat people nap. When a cat person is caught napping, the cat says, Fine. Here, I’ll curl up in your lap and help.
Recently I was dragged into a conversion of sorts. First I spent some time with Murphy, who convinced me dog are wonderful beings (and they love to ride in cars!) and then we got Riley and then–because one of us just really doesn’t understand the term ‘enough’–we got Annie.
Today is Saturday. It’s cooler. The world outside is kind of gray with threatening. It’s a lay-on-the-couch sort of day.
So Nancy laid on the couch, stretched out, and decided to take a nap.
For Nancy to lay on the couch, Annie had to get up.
So now Annie is up.
‘Up’ for a cat means ‘up-right’ or ‘not lying down’. ‘Up for a dog means ready, happy and busily on the way to something. (We have no idea what. It doesn’t matter: we’re UP.)
And the Conservatory couch is a low couch. This is the exact height of the Conservatory couch: Annie, standing with all four feet on the floor, can nose-kiss a person lying on the couch. Even face-lick, if necessary.
She can munch them. Munching is a dog thing: it’s sort of a cross between biting and nuzzling, probably a grooming tool. It’s hard to sleep when you’re being munched.
Oh, dear: a herd of motorcycles just passed the house. Ordinarily there would be dogs hysterically barking, but apparently the machine extends into parts of the back yard. You have to love this machine.
Anyway. Between four face-washing, a short tongue bath, two bounce-ons and some dedicated munching, Nancy has given up on her nap and is now rattling around in the bathroom.
It’s a lot harder to nap with dogs. Particularly wide-awake, alert, ready-to-go dogs.
We have developed a much deeper appreciation and understanding for the old saw, ‘let sleeping dogs lie’.
