Dog Days

After several delays and false starts, Queequeg has arrived. His first family (my brother-in-law and his kids) were visiting for the weekend, so Monday was my first full day as a dog owner. As I've said here before, I was reluctant to take on this responsibility. There were already seven other lives dependent on me for their wellbeing; and a dog is more work than five cats and two turtles combined. Between small business, part-time job, teaching classes, and maintaining my household, I already felt I didn't have enough down time. However, there seemed to be no good choices, and Qq has nowhere else to go.

Partly to ease my adjustment, I started thinking of this as a project, an experiment in human and animal psychology: Can all the theories I've read about dogs and their hierachical social natures be put into practice, or is it mumbo jumbo? Equally importantly: Can a cat person love a dog?

That sounds awful, as though I am one of those tiresome prigs who fears poison dog germs. I don't even argue for the superiority of cats, only that they are easier. Though all of mine are the cuddly sort, they are content to entertain themselves with sunning, bathing, or inter-cat play if no human is available for petting. If we need to go somewhere, the cats just need food, water, and a place to go potty, and they are all set. Cats purr, a soothing sound. Dogs bark, a jarring sound. Cats are clean, quiet, and self-sufficient. Dogs, not so much.

Queequeg will need to learn how to fit into our household. I will need to learn (re-learn, to be exact) how much fun a dog can be. Already he has accompanied me on two work-related excursions, something cats really aren't up for.

Up next: leash training.