Love and Hate

Love and Hate - Prompt #3
WC 646

My name is Bonnie. I have a love/hate relationship with the cat next door. I guess she is the yin to my yang as you humans would put it. If I am told to stay in my yard, that little puss in boots will try her best to get me to come over to her yard. It happens often enough for me, as the smarter of the two species, to know that it is not an accident.

Yesterday is a good example. I am a noble dog. I am an Airedale. We are stoic, not given to wild swings in emotions. When my master, George, tells me to stay, I usually take that as a valid command and don’t second guess his wishes. I do what he tells me to do. He is, after all, the alpha of my pack. I know he is a human, but this is the closest thing I have to a pack. So I obey. It is the wolf in me. I apologize, I digress. Back to the story.

I am lying in the wonderful green grass, minding my own business. I am in my own yard, as instructed by my alpha. In the next space of wonderful green grass, across the fence, is the feline that answers to the name of Trixie. She is an evil little cat. She adores making me misbehave and tries every trick to get me to chase her. An evil black monster is she. That black sleek snake slinks under the fence into my beautiful green grass and sneaks up on me as I lie sleeping. No sound met my ears as she pounced on my tail and woke me from a wonderful dream of running in the flowers and catching gophers. What perversion! I barked and ran after that little creature and chased her back into her territory.

Of course, cats do not have the same alpha responsibility as dogs. I have no idea who their bosses are. I feel they are like roaming mafia gangs. Perhaps their leaders are downtown and give assignments to individual members of the gang. Terrorizing dogs is their racket.

Trixie jumped up on her fence with the ease of a gymnast. I jumped and barked and voiced my anger. She paced back and forth and just whipped her tail in amusement. Like I mentioned previously, she is evil - a minx. Soon George came into the yard of Trixie. At that moment I knew I was the one that would be punished. Not Trixie, me! Sure enough, George had the dreaded leash that he hooked to my collar and off I was dragged, perfectly humiliated. Now I had to stay in the house and listen to a lecture about staying away from Trixie and her yard, again!

A few days later, I was once again in the wonderful green grass. "Now you stay, Bonnie. No more running over to the other yard. And leave that cat alone!” George admonished me and then went into the house. I hoped that Trixie would indeed stay away and not tempt me this time. I hated staying in the house.

But here she came. Trixie the evil cat sashaying over to my beautiful green grass, her tail held high. She had some nerve after her performance the other day! I stay where George said to stay, because he is my alpha and I do try to do what he says. That cat came right up to my nose, let out a loud ‘meow’ and then laid down on my two front paws.

Now I am no expert in catspeak, but if I remember right, that phrase in that tone means ‘I’m sorry.’ So I licked her face in return and we both had a nice nap in the sun.

Like I said earlier, Trixie and I have a love/hate relationship.