|
| dogtree - 12:42 PM on Jul. 15, 2009 |
message
|
My name is Marcus, and I am the father of Little Lucy the Fox 'Terror' Cross.
This is Little Lucy's story.
Little Lucy has lived with me since early this year, and was born just before Halloween in 2008. Lucy is from a household that is not good for it's animals, despite having many dogs living with them. Every season, they let their dogs breed, and never desex the puppies, so a fresh crop of little furry guys arrives quite regularly.
When Lucy was rescued by Bec, who lives up the road from that house, she was so riddled with worms that she needed immediate treatment. The treatment was too effective too quickly, and she went into shock. A whole night was spent with Lucy on a drip, and it looked like she would die, but with constant monitoring she managed to pull through. At this time she was still smaller than a loaf of bread, but obviously a fighter - and without Bec's help, personal expense and care she would never have survived. I'm rather glad that she did.
I have always had cats. In fact, Lucy lives with me and one other living creature, a beautiful Russian Blue cat named Spud. Just to be clear, Spud's a girl. She was meant to be named Pushkin, which is much more elegant a name for such a beautiful creature, but when she arrived it was immediately obvious that she was a Spud, or occasionally a Spuddy - but not a Pushkin. There was nothing I could do about it, that's just the way it was.
Cats show their affection in particular ways, and Russian Blues are particularly affectionate, bonding with their owner and loving nothing more than to spend time in their presence. Of course, dogs also just want to hang out, but their way of conveying emotions is different, to say the least! While Spud is capable of the most delicate physical gymnastics, and can jump up onto a spare bit of bench or table barely larger than my hand without disturbing anything, Little Lucy has a slightly different way of moving through the world. Little Lucy is fast as lightning, and about as delicate as a dive bomb in a swimming pool!
So Spud and I have welcomed this little ball of fire into our apartment in the Melbourne CBD. Initially Spud wasn't very happy about it. There was a certain amount of growling and the occasional hissing, although not as much as I expected. This was countered by nothing but furious tail-wagging, extreme excitement and 'hello hello hello!' from Lucy, which hasn't really dimmed over time. Things have moved on somewhat, and while Lucy is now bigger than Spud, the balance of power hasn't really shifted all that much. Lucy is still bananas, and Spud is still too cool for school. The main difference is that now the cat regularly gets body-pinned by the dog, which is not a necessarily welcome thing form the cat's point of view. Suit;s Lucy just fine, and her fascination with all things Spud hasn't dimmed one iota in their time together.
Little Lucy is weaving her daily chaotic magic on the household, and I am now much better versed on the differences between an affectionate cat and an affectionate dog. The main difference is a surprising one: while the cat seems to have decided long ago who I am and what I am all about, and dispenses her warmth and companionship with reliable regularity, Little Lucy seems to look at me with fresh eyes every day. A funny thing happens when I look into Little Lucy's beady brown eyes: sometimes, when she is not over-excited, she seems to really look back at me - to really pay attention, and gaze into my eyes in a way that the cat never does, despite her warmth and affection. If I make a strange noise I immediately get rewarded by the same treatment: Lucy will stop - albeit briefly, she is so full of beans - and comically tilt her head and raise her ears. You can practically her her little fuzzy brain going 'what the hell was that?"
Truth be told, if I wasn't already in love with this little dog, the way she looks at me would seal the deal. So much love without strings attached and so much personality, wrapped up in a wiry-coated creature that is completely there with me in the moment, whenever the moment happens to be.
If only I could persuade her to stop stealing cat poo from the litter tray...but then again, I'm happy to take my little girl any way she comes. After all, she takes me any way I come - it seems that returning the favour is the least I can do.
Marcus Baumgart |
|
|
Back to Discussion Board