Sunflower Blog

I Love My Dogs

I've spent the better part of this Saturday evening brushing my pets. I have four. I'm not usually able to get them all in the same day, though I try to get each at least once a week.

The two cats aren't the problem to brush that the two big dogs are. A cat is a compact animal, as my experience goes. I studied veterinary technology in college, and we worked with cows and horses, and snakes, and birds, and iguanas, and other now domesticated animals. I trimmed a parrot's feather's once. I enjoy getting on a personal basis with the critter. I find it personally satifying to be allowed into an animal's personal space.

My German Shepherd is two-years old, mostly black, with some tan and blonde around her face and tail. She's the "little baby girl dog" of the family, and I tell her all the time. It's like an endearment between us. Having my first German Shepherd has proven a learning experience. I still haven't explored the breed on the Internet. But I know she's smart. She finds me first when we play hide and seek.

At this point you're probably saying, "Is this a kid or a nut?" I'm a grown up kid who likes to play with her pets like she's still a little girl. We have a few games--like chew up the cardboard milk carton. She loves to tear things to pieces. Maybe she's practicing tearing flesh, because she's a barker and very protective of me. She's the lighter of the two dogs, weighing about 55 pounds.

After brushing "Shadow," I was able to catch the outside kitty, who answers to the name of "Emily." She was named for Emily Dickinson, of course. She's mostly grey with white chest markings. Her hair texture is so soft and fuzzy. She prefers being outside to chase birds and her feline cohorts she invites over. The dogs don't like her friends at all.

"Big Bad John" is a gentle giant. At 95 pounds, his blonde Labrador/Shepherd hair can look silky--like when he's just brushed. I tell him he's handsome when it's all over with. All my pets love being groomed by me. It's a kind of non-language communication, especially when you look in their eyes. There's got to be lots of karma to be had from brushing a pet.

"John" takes a long time to brush in entirity. When I'm finished (in the shedding season), I get enough hair to stuff a decorator pillow. As big as he is, "John's" sensitive in the summer heat, and starts scratching and biting. Those slurping sounds of dog licking drive me crazy. This brushing will help that.

Every critter in my house was brushed from their nose to the tip of their tail today. I hope that cuts down on the hair shedding that's happening in my house now. I brush, I vacuum, and I give my big dogs a down-on-the-floor hug and roll about to celebrate. Dog floor parties are great for building up your karma.

There's no one so loyal as your dog.