We have 2 cats and a dog now and they are so different from each other. Shadow the mutt (not to loudly) got his name from a habit he always seemed to have … and in the morning if you forget your panties, he gives a whole new meaning to ‘a dog’s cold nose’. He runs around 48 pounds and is composed of a muscle with teeth on one end and daggers on the other … but he is such a lover??? Black lab and pit mix and definitely an alpha male who clips his own claws (remember those teeth, hahaha) and he has never encountered a bug worthy enough to live on his body. We live in sunny bug infested Florida … my previous dog had to be groomed daily??? He sleeps faithfully with me every night and pines at the door when I dare leave him behind … true love.

Then there is CC our calico, she has lived with us since she was weaned. She is my husband’s cat without a doubt and will only come to him … sometimes, but to no one else. She is as recluse as can be and pretty much seems concerned only with the location of Shadow the muscle. When she is on the file cabinet and wants to leave the room and Shadow is scrunched in his ‘Lazy Boy’ it can be like a 5 or 10 minute slow motion opera as they play their cards out. The dog pretends to sleep and the ever so cautious cat makes mental mathematical calculations … inch by inch hahaha. As the cat progresses the dog’s head comes up as if on cue inch by inch. At some point the dog blinks the cat jumps and the race is on. If he gets lucky and manages to catch up to her or trap her somewhere, well she reminds him quite boisterously that she is the alpha cat … and of course that cats rule. He has been foolish enough to get within teeth range but once. Now he just seems to like to hear her cursing … must be a dog thing. Most only get to see pictures of her.

Then there is P.I.T.A. our black and white cat who picked us out at the adoption center. Day one we filled out the paperwork just to qualify (???) and the kittens were all frolicking as only they can and we were undecided. Day two we were approved and there was only one kitten frolicking the rest were sawing logs. That was all the ‘sign’ we needed and she has proven to be the friendliest cat we have ever had. She too follows me around like a puppy, room to room and back again. But she is not afraid of Mr. Muscle at all and likes to snuggle in the middle of his bed and his favorite blanket; she is so bad, hahaha. Our little ‘Pain In The Ass’ has proven to be very loving, very smart and very persistent and easily lives up to her name. We have a pet door to our patio that allows all the animals 24/7 access to Mother Nature … the back yard. This article was supposed to be about her daring escape, but I will save that for later as this is probably already too long.