Tuesday, December 30, 2008

just like dr. doolittle


Overheard:


Son (to Father) - "Do you ever talk to our animals? Really talk to them? Mama has entire conversations with the dogs."

Father - "Do they talk back?"

In my own defense, I come by my craziness when it comes to love of animals honestly. My sister is every bit as bad as I am with her cat, Iggie, and my mother can talk to and play with just about any animal for hours.

My mom came from a family of thirteen kids. When we were growing up, my sister and I loved hearing the stories of the animals that lived in and passed through her family home. We still beg to be told these stories and have begun to share them with my kids.

There was George, the budgie, who used to perch on my Grandfather's head (and who died when he came in for a landing, missed and ended up on a hot element).

There were many, many cats, including Fiona (the beautiful), Fluffy (who lost the tip of his tail) and Kelly (the favourite). There was Nicky, the dog that loved to ride on the my uncle's motorcycle. And there were the various animals my mother's oldest brother brought home (often rumoured to have been gambling winnings) - the rabbit (it arrived on Easter and my mother collected hundreds of little "raisins" that the rabbit kept "laying." Fortunately, she didn't try and eat any.), the monkey (banished after he started swinging from the curtains) and the chicken (that my Grandmother found tied to the table leg in her kitchen).

Really, compared to the way my mother grew up, my house with its dogs and cat is really very quiet.

And yes, I do talk to my animals. They are very sympathetic listeners.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Who doesn't talk to animals? They're the crazy people, not we animal-conversationalists!

The Maven said...

How can one NOT to talk animals when they're just so gosh darn cute? (This is said by the woman with two dogs, two cats and two rabbits, mind you....)

Want a raisin?

Dee said...

I talk to my cat ... I believe they have spirits just as we do. The people of the North believe that animals are humans with a different "skin" and are just as capable of humans of intelligence and free will. I kinda like that idea - last year sometime, I was reading in bed when I felt something hop up on my bed. I looked for my current cat, Elizabeth, but she wasn't there. The week before that, my partner said he had a dream about a cat hanging out by my bedroom closet. I think it was my former cat, Ptery (short for Pteradactyl), visiting us.

Mom2Amara said...

I talk to Dog2Amara all the time. And I swear she understands me. She'll cock her head to one side or she'll shake it in disbelief. Yea, I may a crazy one too!