Learning from the Animals | Jim Kraus

Our noble dog, Rufus, and I take two walks every day—regardless of the weather. And we live in Chicago, so that ‘regardless’ can loom large at times. (At zero degrees, in the dark, with a wind strong enough to lift Rufus’ ears, ala The Flying Nun, one has to question our determination . . . or sanity. But really—one of us ‘has’ to go out, if you know what I mean.)

Anyhow, I have learned much from cohabitating with animals. Rufus has taught me to always be ready to go out, always be ready to happily greet the world, always be ready to make a new friend (even if the other dog looks like a rabid wolverine.) Rufus greets every day with a smile—even though schnauzers are not built for smiling. As a believer, am I that eager? Am I that happy to be alive?

Of course, I should be. And Rufus is always there to remind me that approaching the world and our faith should be done as a small child—with joyful abandon.

I based the character Rufus the dog in The Dog That Talked to God on our Rufus. Both Rufus’, the real and the fictional, have a child-like innocence and are quite simply, the most joyous of dogs.

The cat character, Petey, in my latest release, The Cat That God Sent, is also based on Petey, our cat who has deemed us as suitable hosts. Petey is an ill-tempered Siberian cat—and is a more inscrutable teacher. Cats don’t have the same need for constant affirmation that dogs do—so understanding their behaviors and learning from them is trickier.

What I have learned from Petey is persistence. Petey is basically an indoor cat—though he has a full-set of claws (and does not hesitate to use them.) Most of the time, he is fine with being inside, sitting on a window sill, watching birds flutter by. Occasionally though, he decides that he simply ‘has’ to go outside. (When he does, he walks around the house and comes back to the front door five minutes later.) When he wants to go outside, he will sit, inches from the front door, staring at it, and crying every 13 seconds. He will keep that up for hours, maybe longer. I’m not sure of his endurance—but it is longer then mine. Ten minutes into this caterwauling (they did invent that word based on a cat’s cry, didn’t they?) I simply HAVE to let him out. Petey is not angry. Nor does he seem frustrated. He is simply persistent and willing to persevere against all odds.

I wish I had the same dedication to an idea or a desire.

What would it be like to be that dedicated to . . . let’s say . . . witnessing? Not in an harassing, pestering way, but simply witnessing as a part of our daily routine—but something we do, over and over and over, until people hear us.

If we watch carefully, and listen with our heart as well as our head, the animals in our live can truly teach us much about sharing and connecting. I know the two animals in my house did exactly that.

Jim Kraus is a longtime writer and editor who has authored or co-authored more than 20 books, both fiction and non-fiction. His first book for Abingdon Press, The Dog That Talked to God, released in 2012, became a best-seller.

Jim and his wife, novelist Terri Kraus, have one son and live in the Chicago area. They share their home with a sweet and gentle miniature schnauzer, named Rufus, and an ill-tempered Siberian cat, named Petey. There is a Petey the cat character in Jim’s latest release from Abingdon, The Cat That God Sent. Any resemblance is purely intentional.