Taking the Little Darlings Home for the First Time

Socrates on the left, Filbert on the right. Click to enlarge.


One day I was getting bored at work and thought to myself that what I need in life is a pet. Another beautiful creature to romp around my home besides my boyfriend and me. I decided to get a dog. But then upon reflecting on the canine species and on my boyfriend, I knew that a dog wouldn't work. My boyfriend collects fine china, and dogs just aren't compatible with breakable objets d'art. Not only that, but there are a number of high-priced orchids about the place. Dogs get hungry sometimes, let's just leave it at that. So I called up my boyfriend and suggested we get a dog. Bear in mind, this was a tactical ploy. He said he would think about it, and I said ok and went about my work until the end of the day. When I came home, he had a prepared argument as to why we should not get a dog. I smiled after the first few sentences out of his mouth, and said, "Okay! How about a cat, then?" He seemed relieved and almost immediately agreed. This is called using psychology.

I went to the local Animal Shelter, because I wanted to adopt a stray and save it from being put to death. I don't care much about breeds. There's a whole political argument in there somewhere, but this isn't a political blog, and you know what I say? To each his own. I'm sure that if I were the owner of a cat with a pedigree, I'd feel differently. But there is a respectable scientific argument to be made for mutts. Genetic infirmities persist within breeds. Mutts on the other hand benefit from hybrid vrabbit.

Hats off to the Animal Shelter. They accept inmates from the local prison to work with the animals, which I think is very therapeutic. Nothing could be better for someone in prison than to spend large amounts of time with an animal and learn about affection, trust, and friendship in a safe environment. I wish that all prisons had sections where pets were permitted for those inmates that were capable of affection.

The selection of cats was great, but I was sad to see so many good-looking dogs, many of them doomed to die. I wanted to take one of the dogs home. There were many young and healthy looking dogs that would make a great pet for somebody.

My personal preference in cats is for a quiet, yet intelligent animal. I don't want a crazy cat that is going to raise cane in my house. There's nothing wrong with that, but I lead a more sedate lifestyle myself. There's not a party on every night, you know? By handling a cat, you can tell which ones are calmer and more retiring. I found two cats that were very gentle and seemed to enjoy human company. They did not struggle to escape, but accepted being held, which I thought was a good sign. They also both liked being petted, one in particular, the one on the left in the picture above. The fact that they were both brothers seemed like a guarantee of peace between them.