We at dd|a are pet lovers. Most of us have at least one pet living with us in our homes. Research has shown that owning a pet can make people happier. It has also shown it can make people emotionally, and even physically, healthier. This is no doubt due in part to the companionship and unconditional love that a pet brings to an owner on a daily basis, and vice versa. We wanted to share with you some of our pet and owner relationship stories…

Dave has two Labradors. Wiggles is a dear old yellow lab, and Putter is a younger, more spry black lab. Every morning, Dave can tell how his day is going to go by how he wakes up next to Putter. He is either getting his face lovingly licked, or given an unpleasant view of Putter’s back end. Wiggles, being unable to jump into Dave’s bed anymore due to her age, sits patiently on the floor. Then Dave heads to the kitchen to grab himself a cup of coffee while Wiggles and Putter stare at him as if to say, “Where’s our breakfast, Dad?” This is followed by a trip outside to let the dogs do their duties. Wiggles most of the time doesn’t quite make it to the door before a little present gets left for Dave. He often refers to her as the “poop cannon.” Dave and his Labs enjoy the occasional game of fetch in the back yard, but the one thing they do not enjoy doing together is watching the Broncos on TV. Something about a hooping and hollering 6 foot 3 inch balding man screaming at the television makes Wiggles and Putter steer clear!

Jill Friesen brought home three-month-old Howie, a male Maltese, in May of 2007. It took a while for their relationship to grow, as Howie, being a puppy and not yet potty trained, tried Jill’s patience on a daily basis. But after the potty training was over, their relationship improved immensely. They now look forward to daily walks in the park, and cuddling on the couch in the evenings. Jill has taught Howie some tricks that he is more than willing to do in exchange for a doggy treat. He can beg, lay down, sit, and roll over. Jill has many “pet names” (haha, I know, bad pun) for Howie. These include: Winkerbean, BoBo, and Muffin Man. Don’t judge her, he’s adorable. Just look at him!

LaReesa received her two lovely cats, Sue and Jessica (who she refers to as “the girls”), as presents from her husband after graduating college. They were rescued from a group called Feline Friendz which helps catch feral cats and spay or neuter them. LaReesa, Sue, and Jessica love curling up in bed with a good book on Saturday mornings and lounging for hours. LaReesa’s husband will often eat a cup of yogurt and when he is done, each of “the girls” gets a yogurt finger to lick on, if they wait patiently. The girls also love to sit on the side board and watch LaReesa do crafts, as well as compete for a spot in the sun on the couch in front of the picture window.

LaReesa also loves her mom’s cat, who they call Little Black Kitten. He is a very special kitty as he has 6 (or 7) toes on each front paw!!!

This is an average Saturday from the perspective of Kevin’s “daughter” Baya the bulldog:
I get woken up early by Mom yelling at Dad to clean the house, so I drag myself out of bed, go to the kitchen and eat my breakfast–a bowl of Beneful–my favorite! Then I mosey outside to bark at…nothing really, do my business, then head back inside. I then like to lay on the couch with Dad while he watched SportsCenter. I take a nice nap for about an hour when Dad goes outside to mow the lawn. Then I might wake up and chew on my bone for awhile. Then Dad lets me outside again and I spot a bunny and try to catch it, but I quickly run out of breath and give up, and go lay on the deck and catch some rays. But the sun is pretty hot, so I want to go back inside and take another nap. I try to sleep, but by this time Dad is watching a football game and yells at the TV every few minutes. I don’t know what he’s so mad about! I try another spot on the couch. I sometimes catch a glimpse of another animal on TV and bark at it to try to scare it away. I usually do. Then it’s dinner time, so stretching, I jump down off the couch to go eat my beloved Beneful once again. Mmmmm… Dad lets me outside where I see the neighbor standing at the fence. I bark at him just so he knows who’s boss of this domain. In the evening, after dinner, I like to cuddle up with my Mom on the couch for a little while, until Mom and Dad decide to leave to go out. I pout about this for awhile, then take a nap until they get home. As soon as I hear the garage door, I get so excited I run around the house because they are home and I missed them so much! I follow Mom to bed where I get 14 hours of more sleep. Ahhhhh, life is good.

The very moment Nena hits the floor in the morning, her two little boys immediately appear at her feet. As she walks out of her bedroom, they dash ahead and meet her in the kitchen. By the time she gets to the kitchen, they’re already sitting in front of the refrigerator, looking at her with anticipation. She says, “Do you want a treat?” Four little ears perk up, and she hears a duet of squeaky little meows. She opens their favorite canned cat food and serves up two separate dishes – one for Basil Dudley and one for Maurice Ravel. They dig in, and when finished, contentedly stroll away to their favorite lounging spots. This is how they start each day. As you can see from the pictures here, Basil loves a good Italian gourmet meal, and has wonderful table manners. Maurice is a very sophisticated feline and can often be found displaying his stately profile in the window. Nena has a very motherly relationship with her cats, and she says they even call her “Meow-ama.”

Thad has a cat AND a dog, the best of both pet-lover worlds. Binx the cat has to be within eye site of someone at all times. We’re not sure if this is out of vanity, or if she just loves the comfort of knowing her wonderful parents are always watching over her. And she doesn’t actually meow, but squeaks! Binx was rescued from a shelter in Chicago, where Thad used to live. Wesley the dog, a Newfoundland/Saint Bernard mix (yeah, that’s a big dog) was brought into Thad’s home from the Saint Bernard Rescue. Thad says if he’s anything like his father (his canine father that is) he could weigh close to 200 lbs! Wesley is happiest when he’s cooled off, as he is constantly moving from one air vent to the next in the house. He is an athlete and loves to swim. Look out Michael Phelps! Thad and Wesley are often found caught up in a huge bear hug. Awwwww.

So if you’ve been feeling a little down, lonely, or incomplete, we encourage you to go to your local animal shelter and adopt a wonderful cat or dog. They truly are man’s, and woman’s, best friends.

Also, we’d love to hear about your pets and any funny or unusual pet stories you or someone you know has experienced! Comment your stories right here after this post.

Tags: cats, dogs, Fun, happy, pet, pets

Written by LaReesa
David Day | Associates
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This entry was posted on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 12:06 pm and is filed under Fun. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.