I have a few confessions:
1. I used to be scared of cats. My friend Ted remembers me asking why his cat was making a weird noise and sounding like a motor. He had to explain that she was purring.
2. As a result of #1, I used to be in favor of declawing. In my defense, I didn’t know anything about it. I was ignorant. I still feel guilt and shame when I remember actually saying out loud that I didn’t understand why Toby and his “sister” weren’t declawed. In my defense, I had never lived with one cat, let alone two (yes, I got Toby from an old roommate when she didn’t want him). Thankfully I never actively tried to get any cats declawed. It still makes me turn red.
3. Until I met Missy, I bought into pitbull’s bad PR.
4. After bruising my tailbone and hitting the back of my head, I became terrified of large horses for awhile. Admittedly, I still have to remind myself not to tense up when the horse is particularly tall.
5. I’m not good with reptiles and bugs really just freak me out.
Why did I post these? Partially to show that even an “animal lover” can have anti-animal characteristics. More importantly, because it’s proof, albeit anecdotal, that information and experience can change a person’s mind. Living with Toby started my journey toward being a “cat lady,” volunteering at the shelter taught me about declawing and all the ways to help a destructive cat without maiming him for life, and meeting Missy made me fall in love with pit bulls. I now adore cats, hate declawing, and consider pit bulls my favorite breed of dog.
Maybe in the future I’ll get to know a snake up close and personal and he’ll change my mind.
I am going to have to respectfully submit my disagreement regarding the best dog breed, for it is a well-established fact (if you ascribe, as I do, to the view that my opinions are the equivalent of well-established facts) that the best dog breed is the Labrador Retriever (even more specifically, chocolate-colored ones).
Well, I didn’t quite say that pit bulls are the “best” breed of dog. I think that “best” depends on who wants the dog and what purpose the dog will be serving. Chocolate Labs are lovely dogs, but they wouldn’t be great for the Obamas who need a dog who doesn’t shed. I have a cat so if I ever got a dog, I would need one with a high pain tolerance in case Toby ever used his claws. A pit would better serve my needs. Plus, there are so many readily available in shelters. Chocolate labs go pretty quickly, though black labs stay a long time. Black dogs always seem to stay a really long time in the shelter.