Tail Talk

Having an inside cat has been a new experience for us.  It’s been sixteen years since I’ve lived with a cat in the house.  Not because I don’t care for inside cats but because sixteen years ago I made the jump from small and medium size dogs to big dogs, and I was afraid for their safety (the cat, not the dog, but I may have to rethink that).  Every young animal we bring into the house has been destructive in some way (the very reason I prefer to adopt adult dogs from a shelter).  Jack chewed the weather stripping off the door, went through the screen door, then chewed up the metal guards I bought to protect the new screen door, then went through the new, new screen door that lasted about a week.  Then he ate my glasses that although I could still see out of them I couldn’t read the small print.  I needed a new pair but they weren’t in the budget.  But I know and accept these things about one year old animals.  Last Saturday we had thunderstorms all day long so it was a noisy day but in the background I heard something that sounded like I may have a mouse in the house.  I wasn’t sure where I was hearing it from so I didn’t get up to investigate, a mistake I won’t make in the future.  You can imagine my surprise when I got up to let the dogs out the side door to find that Booger had shredded the carpet about 1-1/2 inches into the room.  I’m surprised he was able to shred all 36” of doorway because any time I happen to get a toe on the carpet tack it stings so bad I don’t want to be anyplace close but it didn’t seem to phase him a bit.  Maybe he was trying to help me out by trying to remove the offending tacks.  I’m going to take the high road and think positively about his actions, but we’ll never know.  I expected big destruction out of a big dog but I didn’t expect it out of the cat.  The carpet needs to be replaced but it really isn’t in the budget right now.  Fortunately our nephew moved into a new home and is replacing new carpet with hardwood floors so we are the beneficiary of his carpet just in our time of extreme need.  I’m grateful it was the carpet and not the furniture but since I’ve been down that road before I now I keep a cover over my couch and chairs.  The days of my naiveté of having naked furniture have been long gone since the days when Wolffie first ate my prized white couch.  This is the price you pay when you bring a young animal into your home.  If you think you’re going to get away unscathed you are sadly mistaken and another animal will find its way into a shelter.  You must understand the consequences of your actions when you adopt.  If you don’t take responsibility for the bad along with the good you are part of the problem and we will never overcome the need for shelters.  Be realistic in your expectations when you see that cute little puppy or kitten and understand they go through a very destructive stage before they become the greatest love of your life, but once they get there you are given the greatest unconditional love you will ever experience.  If replacing carpet isn’t a small price to pay for years of unconditional love and devotion I don’t know what is.  And never forget, it is only through you that the Randolph County Humane Society continues to save lives, one by one.