It's a Dog's Life.

I have a doggy dynamic in my household. They let us live here and pay all the bills, all the while being petted, bathed and pampered. We get to walk them, feed them and occasionally get to use the living room, their primary domain. We are definitely at their beck and call. Mike, back when he was single didn't have pets. He felt unsure about having dogs and cats and whatever else was living in the cages at the time. After all these years, he's a complete sucker for the animals and spoils them as much as I do.

I have officially rescued the Shepard /whippet mix, and the cha-wienie in the first picture, the two bratty cats and adopted the sugar glider that resides in our house. The wiener in the second picture was bought from a breeder for my 40th birthday. My daughter has a wild rabbit named Tuvia, that she got in a pet store when he was way too young to be there, but his mother was no where to be found. She had had rabbits all her life and felt compelled to rescue him. He is better trained than most dogs and definitely smarter.

I am not a dog owner, I am owned by my dogs. There is not one aspect of my life they don't willingly or willfully intrude in. I love animals, so I am OK with the fact that they will interrupt my sleep, get fed first and have trained me to give them doggy treats at their every whim. I have been trained well by my animals. They took the time to be repetitive, rewarding me with tail wags and open signs of affection. I think this is the true meaning of Pavlov's dogs, they are the ones who do the teaching, while I am ringing the bell as fast as I can.

I am watching my older dog, Asti, begin to show real signs of age. She( the large mix breed) has been with me now for almost 14 years. She is part of me now. We know each other's mood and idiosyncrasies. We forgive each other our faults and allow the other room to grow and grow older. We are both moodier and handle chaos with lessening grace. We require increased quiet, better food and a sterner schedule. She gets me.

I was recently referred to as a bitch. I was dutifully insulted and was about to take the head off of the person who accused me of such behavior. That is not an acceptable word for any woman, and I have been very quick to point out to anybody who dares utter it, just what I think. The person said they meant it in a good way and then they smiled. "Hmmm" was all I could say. I decided not to waste my breath educating a rock, so I left it there. Afterward, I sat down trying to think of how being referred to as a bitch could ever be a good thing. I felt my blood pressure begin to rise, when it occurred to me that Asti, my darling and most loved dog is a bitch. I have never called her that, but it is the correct label for a female dog. I thought about her character, her sense of loyalty, her guardianship over me and my family. She has never once let me down.

If the word bitch means anything like my dear dog then I will let it pass. I realize that lately I have been a little moodier. I know I have been less patient and somewhat surly. I get the fact that my inability to listen to B.S. right now makes me seem less tolerant. Truly, if there was any real bitch in the house, it would probably be me, since Asti doesn't have a cross thought or intention in her.

I think I have a better system for categorizing my moods. When I am in a loving mood, I am all Asti. When I am needy and pathetic and hard headed, then I am Schnitzel and when I am completely befuddled and child like, then I am BoBo. Those are the only names that really OK with me. Anything else just feels mean.