Category: Life with Pets
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Jack Misses His Breakfast
A Tale of Overthinking “Here, Jack! Here, Kitty, Kitty!” I shake the bowl so the kibbles rattle against the sides. “Jack-Jack! Come get your breakfast!” Most days, my cats come running within a few minutes of being summoned. But not today. I wait expectantly for the blur of orange to race into the garage and…
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Cats, Mice and Olympic Ambition
Catching Mice Should Be an Olympic Sport I’ve never been a runner. But yell, “Jack’s got a mouse!” and watch me take off like an Olympic sprinter after the starting gun. Unlike my Olympic counterparts, my 50-yard dash doesn’t end when I cross the finish line. It ends when I fling open the back door…
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Playing Possum and Other Myths of the Animal Kingdom
Playing possum isn’t playing at all I saw an opossum in the road the other day, but didn’t know if it was dead or just “playing possum.” When I drove by the following day and saw it holding the same pose, I knew it wasn’t practicing its thespian skills. Playing possum does not work if…
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Dog Breath and Coffee
What Gets You Up in the Morning? Dog breath and coffee. There cannot be two more dichotomous smells in the entire universe, and yet both have the ability to spring me from my bed each morning. In fact, they often work in tandem. Consider the scenario: the alarm clock rings and I reach for…