Sympathy Pain

Our dogs…god bless them…are a great team. Little dog will drag out anything, most of which makes no sense to us. Charlie will then follow her lead. It’s the deaf leading the cute but dumb.

This has been a theme throughout our relationship. Before we lived together, and even before Charlie. I bought Sarah a pack of yellow peeps when we first started dating. Little dog and her crew in Sarah’s old house, took care of them. Many shoes have gone to that big closet in the sky. Chocolate, tic tacs, Jack’s power rangers. All demolished, usually starting with Mable’s curiosity.

Well, this morning, we discovered the newest victim. Someone, who had to be taller than our usual instigator, must have pulled a can of formula of the counter. So it looks like Mable has taught Charlie some bad habits. Somehow they took the can out the dog door and had a formula feast during the night.

So, I wonder how good or bad this is for the beasties. I do know they picked an expensive new target. And, it would suck to wake up and they have hunted down the last can in the house. So, we will be finding a better place, away from the pointer’s reach, to keep the baby food.

Formula…who knew. Maybe it’s a natural enemy in the wild. That’s where the saying “fighting like soy based formula and dogs.”

“We don’t need another cat…” Famous last words.

It was 1996. My ex-wife and I had been married about a year. We had traveled to Birmingham from Atlanta to visit old college friends. While visiting, we went to a pet store where another college friend of mine worked. We were not there to get a cat. I mean, who travels 200 miles and gets a cat on a whim. But there she was. This heart shaped faced, slender, black little girl. She was a very slim, slinky cat. My ex fell in love with her.
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We were hanging out in the kitchen last night…about to hit the hay. Talking about something, probably how to cure cancer, and suddenly my wife turned into a gibbering little girl.

“hmmhe hemmhe mhehmemh…” She’s very articulate, “Moouuse.” As she holds me ever tighter.

Now this mouse runs from behind me, in the laundry area, in front of the stove, and tries to go into an under cabinet vent, but the heat is on. So, having met our animals and having no fear of them, he scurries between the legs of deaf dog, hitting her, and runs under the dish washer. Mable never even flinched.

“Where are your cats?” she asked.

“My cats are like 15 years old. The mouse tagged your dog.”

“yeah…well…she’s not a cat.”

So the rest of the night, any little noise…”What was that?” “Is that in our room?”

Now, for a little back story. I hate killing anything. We have known about the mouse for a few months. I put out a humane trap, and the mouse got in, stole the peanut butter, and escaped. I reinforced the box, and the dogs must have dragged it out, hearing a mouse inside, and let the mouse go. It’s very “good guy” Tom and Jerry. That big dog, Spike, always helped the mouse. So I got an industrial sonic pest deterrent…which was running last night when Fivel made his ballsy run of the kitchen.

I guess it’s mouse-icide next.

I also just read this article about fear. Maybe this mouse escaped the experiment…

Happy Puppy

Pissy Cat

Devil Dog

He’s still sad from last weeks defeat…

I stumbled on a blog that post picks of his basset hound every week. I thought that would be a fun extra. So here’s my first weekly installment of “The Comer Menagerie”…

Charlie…our vicious watch dog…

Friday and Shelby…they are in no way friends…Shelby is the Black one, and the first or our deaf animals. (Shelby has since left us)

Mable, our deaf princess. She likes her grooming time with poppa…

We have cats…you might have picked up on that. 2 cats, 2 dogs. I’ve been told, by more than one old maid, that “cat’s will steal the baby’s breath.” Thanks Steven King for expounding on that in “Cat’s Eye” (Great story though).

The truth is that cat’s, while not 100% safe with newborns, aren’t sent from Lucifer to kill your baby. My wife does think they are demon spawn, but for other reasons.

Cats can be great companions for baby. My son has had a cat, Friday, since he was born. Friday would always check out whoever was holding Jack when he was little. Friday slept with jack all the time. He still sleeps with Jack, who is now seven. Jack has learned to be more gentle with animals thanks to his cats.

Now, NEVER leave them alone when the baby is little. Cats love the smell of milk on the baby’s breath (leading to the “steal the breath” myth) and will snuggle up, with no regards to the infants need to breath.

So don’t get rid of Garfield because you are bring home a baby. Also, pregnancy is not the best time to get a pet. So use your common sense about pets and babies. I really think people who grow up with pets make better adults.

Here’s a link to an article about bring baby home to a home with a cat.