A Post With Waterproof Paint

Life sure has changed in a few years, culminating at 40, I expect. Until a year ago, I was a cat person. This in the face of a cat allergy that once produced mild respiratory distress and swelled both eyes shut. We even went so far as to get manx kittens from a couple of breeders a few years back in order to allow me to still enjoy them. Manx lack an enzyme in their saliva that tends to produce the dander that provokes the allergy symptoms. Manx are incredibly aloof, which is not the case with the Burmese chocolate brown, yellow eyed females my mother has loved since before I was born. It is this "love me when I want to be loved otherwise you don't exist" aloofness that has forced a change.

Now, I'm a dogger. I have changed sides in the cats vs. dogs debate. And, I'm starting to wonder if one is enough. Ace, my year old loyal to a fault Labrador, is incredibly social. If he were any more social, I would fear for his safety. If you are accepted by us as a friend, you are part of his pack and therefore subject to extensive welcoming by him. This does include the customary sniffing in areas that, for the life of me, I'll never appreciate why, are exactly the height of a Labrador's head. So part of me still does appreciate aloofness at times.

He's not "intact," as breeders say, although for all his beauty, you would want to clone him. Actually, it is his sweetness and loyalty that you wish you could bottle, not just his looks. He likes to chase our two Manx whose aloofness seems to be crumbling one claw at a time to his impetuous persistence. He will not kill them, I don't think. He's never once shown anger to them. He's always wagged his tale on approach.

Manx cats don't speak Dog, I don't think, anyway. They haven't let on. On the other hand, I think they've regretted trying to teach him Cat. They've repeatedly said, "Stay back!" and now Ace tries saying it back by swiping his paw at them, presuming, I think that "Stay back!" means "I love you." Half the words in Dog mean some variant of "I love you." The other words are "Out. Out now. Out, please! and Do you want me to eat that for you?"

So, Ace needs a friend, if only to spare my aging Manx's nerves. We're praying about it, because at this point, a paid brother, half-brother or cousin would not be in the cards. It would also increase our dog food consumption and waste removal, things we struggle with like all dog owners. Still, I figure that the more dogs I have, the warmer this house will be. Or maybe is it the more broken-in and loved on the furniture is. Regardless, one lesson we've learned is that dogs will teach you to keep your treasures in heaven. It's the only place they can't reach your stuff.