“Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.”
-Robert Frost
Do you think the cats and dogs of America have just about had it with our B.S.?
I mean, dogs and cats have had to put up with a lot, when it comes to sharing their owners and their homes.
It was one thing when the hamsters and gerbils were introduced into American homes…
Household cats and dogs didn’t seem too upset by their introduction, but in hindsight, I bet they’re wishing they’d put an end to that nonsense right then and there.
Those furry, little rats were kept in cages with wheels, and our house cats thought we bought the hamsters just as playthings for them to “play with” and eventually kill.
The same goes for canaries and parakeets. The felines of America were just sitting and waiting for the moment those feathered hors d’oeurvres escaped their cages and stupidly flew low enough to be lunch.
Then, we lost our collective minds a little bit more, and we somehow decided that snakes, bearded dragons and lizards, of all shapes and sizes, would make wonderful house pets.
(Geez, my skin is crawling just typing that!)
A couple of missing small dogs and cats later, the “house” pythons were slithering with full bellies and smiling.
Rule # 1: No snakes in the house.
Next, came the ferrets and weasels. Stinky little buggers who like to steal your stuff, when you’re not looking, and build “nests” with all of your stolen items in the box spring of your bed, or the underside of your sofa.
Where the hell is the remote?
And still our faithful dogs and cats remained loyal and patient, even when they got blamed for Grandma’s missing underpants or a piece of the “good silverware” mysteriously vanishing.
After that, we moved farm animals out of the barn and into our homes; Pot belly pigs, guinea pigs and piglets.
These little guys were so stinking cute!
But they also grew larger than most folks expected, and the feed bill for “Kevin Bacon” or “Hamlet” was an unexpected and unwelcome surprise.
After that phase, I can only imagine that our steadfast dogs and cats were relieved to have their food dishes back to themselves.
And now?
Now, we’re into goats.
Goats in pajamas.
Goat yoga.
Pygmy goats.
Fainting goats.
All of a sudden, America is loving us some goats.
That’s cool. Whatever tickles your fancy.
If our unconditionally-loving canines and felines could roll their eyes, you know they would.
People are buying these jumpy, little furballs and loving the heck out of them.
I’m down with anything that makes you happy.
One evening about a week ago, at my friends’ home in a small Texas town, the cameras and alarms went off at the front door. Being Texan Americans, they grabbed their guns and went to check it out.
What they found on their front porch was a baby goat — its umbilical cord still attached.
Brand, spanking new.
It’s a complete mystery how this baby goat ended up on their front doorstep, since they own many acres and live well out of town.
How did this baby goat just “appear”?
Of course, they took him in. They clipped the cord and cleaned him up. He was starving, and they fed him from an empty condiment bottle, after which he sighed, yawned and promptly went to sleep.
And that was the beginning of George The Goat living in my friends’ Texas home.
George is now about a week old, and he’s the size of a spaniel — all legs, and jumping everywhere.
He’s affectionate and playful, and is even working on being housebroken.
A goat?
In the house?
I know, right?
But it’s working. George has fit right in, and is making himself right at home.
Apparently, George is an South African Boer goat, and may grow to be as much as 200 pounds. So, I’m thinking that George may be moving outside, once spring arrives.
Either way, a very sharp blade, held in a (hopefully) steady and swift-moving hand, is in George’s future, because my friend tells me that they make great pets, after “the boys” are unceremoniously and surgically removed.
One of my first questions to my friend was, “What do Frank and Nina think of George?”
Frank and Nina are their two dogs. They’ve been with my friends’ for years. Devoted. Unwavering. Loyal.
Although, formal introductions haven’t been made, Frank and Nina know there’s a new animal on the property, and this animal is living inside the house.
I wonder if Frank and Nina think George The Goat is just another fad?
Knowing my friends and how kindhearted and generous they are, Frank and Nina are going to have to wrap their heads around the fact that George is there to stay.
I feel you, Frank and Nina.
Change is hard.
But sometimes, the things that we hate the most in the beginning, turn out to be the best things.
Goats in the house.
Whoever would’ve thought that was on the horizon?
More tomorrow,
-A
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