Cats and Dogs and other unexpectedly contentious things: An Open Book blog hop post

Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.

Nov 21, 2022 Big internet fight: Are you team cat or team dog? (or something else?)

People do like to squabble about silly things sometimes, don't they? I don't really have a side in this one, though. Currently, the non-human animals in my house include one snake and two dogs. But over the years, I have shared my home and my heart with a rabbit, four other dogs, some frogs, a hermit crab, a bunch of fish, and five cats (not all at the same time). I'm a grand-mum to my daughter's two cats. They've all had their good and bad qualities. 
I might lean slightly more toward dog-person than cat-person, but I think I would have both if they could get along together. No cats in my immediate future though, as the husband is allergic, and I like him more than I like cats. I'd love some more reptiles, and a goat if I had the yard for it. We'll see what the future holds. 
All in all, I feel pretty fortunate to have had animal love in my life. Pets have seen me through a lot of sadness and loneliness and brought even more joy to happy times in my life. They are better companions than many humans. 

I'll finish with a poem I wrote for the first dog I adopted in my adult life: Häagendog. 

A Woman Needs a Dog

A woman needs a dog

at times like these,

when she has watched too many sunsets alone

and, waking to an empty pillow

in the middle of the night,

cried.

Dogs understand

the desperation we all have

to be loved, how the need of love

can make you abase yourself

and be glad of the opportunity.  

A dog knows how oppressive

it can be to be alone,

yet how important it is

to be independent and strong. 

They appreciate that there is a time

to play in the sun, 

a time to sing to the moon,

and a time to rest your paws

on silken pillows

and wait.  They know

the beauty of indolence,

and the joy of comfort in their own skins. 

And a woman with a dog 

is never alone and never unloved.

Do you have a strong opinion about cats vs. dogs? Or just want to tell me about animals you've loved? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

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