Reining in cats and dogs and....
A month or so ago, I was at a monthly Yancey Democratic meeting when I got a call from the Burnsville Police Department. In retrospect, I’m sorry I answered it. But I’m on good terms with BPD; if you call them for some reason, they’re there in a couple of minutes. I love this town, and our BPD.
As Andy Griffith would have said, “What it was, was [fill in the blank].” (If you’ve never heard his “What it Was, Was Football” - do a search for it. I wouldn’t bother to watch the video; the sound of his voice is enough; one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard).
The BPD knows I’m the local Crazy Dog Lady. But this call was about a cat. They’d been called by someone to check on a woman who - when they did check on her - found that she was obviously in need of transport to the ER - but she would not consent to go until someone agreed to take her cat. (My perspective is that the BPD needs to find out who the Crazy Cat Lady (or Person) is - and call her/him instead of me. I’m all about dogs.)
But - hoping to be helpful - I texted my neighbors (who already have 6 cats and 3 dogs) and asked them if the BPD could bring them the cat, and they said yes. Problem solved! cat re-homed, woman transported to ER. HOWever, turns out this cat is an only child, and wreaked havoc at my neighbors’ house. Bottom line: I posted online the request for a new home for her, and in the meantime, she is now in my guest bedroom. I kinda think my dogs will be okay with her - I have no idea what - if anything - they think (if they are capable of thinking; for God’s sake, they’re dogs!) about cats.
I’ve got 2 boarding dogs until tomorrow. They are more than extremely interested about That Non-Dog Thing in The Guestroom, and so continually bark at It. I’ve managed a few times to put all the dogs out of the house, so the poor cat can roam a bit and get some cuddles. Tonight, she jumped onto the computer desk, purring, and settled down.
Mind you, I thought I was a cat person until I got my first dog when I went to the shelter to get a cat to control the rats at my house on the Cane River in Higgins. I fell in love with a puppy who turned out to be a rat terrier! Best. Dog. Ever.
So, when the current guest dogs leave on Thursday, I plan to introduce the cat to my dogs, one at a time, and see how it goes. My big dog, Sadie, is so submissive that I think she’ll just try to sniff the cat’s butt, and take it from there. (Cats swiping their claws at alleged enemies may be enough.) My little dog, Fang, will probably try to see if the cat likes to play.
We shall see.
Meanwhile, if any of you know who the Crazy Cat Lady in Yancey county is, please, please, let me know. I’ve got a new home for this cat (not sure exactly when), but do not want to go through this again.
Apropo of nothing except what’s important: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - if you vote in Yancey County - do whatever you can (including dragging friends and neighbors to the polls) to elect Dems Jim Parlier, Hillary “Mandy” Young, and Unaffiliated Brandi Buckner Young to the Yancey County Commissioner. (Yancey Dems did NOT vote in the midterms in 2022, and the result was only ONE victory on the school board). I’m hosting a Meet The Candidates thing at my place on Saturday, October 5th at 5pm. Please come and bring friends (and your checkbook)!
xox
Lucy