Family Fur

Lassie the Cat

When I was in college, way back in the late '70s ... I had a sudden attack of Fur-sickness. The disorder came about gradually, but then it caught up with me all at once. Fur-sickness, for those of you who have never suffered from this affliction, is what happens when you realize that there are no pets in your life. It is a close cousin to Home-sickness.

Before I knew what was happening, I found myself browsing the nooks and crannies of Mary's Pet store. The place was alive with puppies, kittens, birds, gerbils, guinea pigs, rats, mice, fish,  turtles, and lizards. Critters were all over the place.

The funny thing about that visit, was that most all of those critters paid very little attention to me. I suppose they were used to gawkers, poking bald gawker noses in and out of their cages. Even the puppies seemed more interested with chewing on each other's tails.

But then, I walked past a little cage full of kittens. Same story there, except for one little white-faced kitty with a pink-nose. She was standing up on her hind legs, and looking me right in the eyes, meowing with all her might.

(don't stop... there's more)

Domino, Part 4: Dances with Spirits

They say that children and animals are especially aware of the spirit world. Of course, you know who “they” are. Someday I will have to write an article about those “they” people that we hear so much about. After all, “they” spend an awful lot of time discussing issues and ideas somewhere behind our backs.

In any case, there seems to be something to that idea. The old house I wrote about earlier, which burned down, was a spooky place for a young boy. In fact, there was more to the basement in that house than just a scary dark nook off a creepy dim passageway.

Perhaps it had something to do with the extra-sensitive nature of children, and perhaps it was just the nature of children to be easily frightened. The logical mind will want to jump on the second of those two choices, but having been “that child”; I am not convinced either way.

Domino, Part 3: The Lion in Cat’s Clothing

One attribute that demarks true human-style intellect, is an ability to play. Now, I’m not talking about normal play such as chasing, tackling, rolling around, and swatting. These activities are common across the animal kingdom, especially among animal “children.”

There is a “next-step” in play activity, which involves active planning, plotting, and execution. The advanced nature of this kind of play requires that the individual thinks far ahead, and sees a perceived reward at the end of the process. Clearly, this falls outside the norm for non-human mammals. Unless, of course, you are something entirely different, even though you look like a cat.

Domino was always ready to accept a playful challenge, and he was a worthy adversary in roughhouse play. One of the most exciting activities was a game of “Blow and Die”. This game took several minutes to complete a single round, because it looked like slow motion to an observer.

Domino, Part 2: The Purple Pillow Stomper

We all have quirks, oddities, and sometimes-even eccentricities. That, in my humble opinion, is the frosting on life’s cake. Some of our traits are adorable, while others fall squarely into the disgusting category. There is a reasonable certainty that I am composed of a sprinkling from both recipes, and whether anyone wants to admit it or not, that is true to some degree of everyone.

Domino was quirky too. One might describe this Siamese cat as a fur-bag with four legs, filled with quirks and purrs. He was cunning, playful, and somehow dignified all at the same time.

Domino, Part 1: A devil redeemed

This was a very special day. My biggest sister Suzy was moving home after finishing her college degree. Amongst her many fascinating possessions was an extra special bonus… her pet cat. As a freshly anointed Spanish teacher, she thought it only natural to give him a Spanish name, which was Diablo (Diablo is Spanish for Devil). I think she thought the name was fitting, because of his impish personality.

The family was more than happy to invite Diablo to live with us, but there was an underlying problem. No one felt particularly good about living with “the Devil”; whether he spoke Spanish, cat-0-nese, or any other language, so it wasn’t long before Diablo was renamed, Domino.  He was a very handsome Siamese, so my guess is that his coloring had something to do with the new name.

As a side note, while looking up the word “Diablo” in an online dictionary, I discovered that the Spanish for “Devil” is actually split between “Diablo”, and “Demonio.” Perhaps for a Spanish teacher, there is a world of difference; but for those of us who are addle-minded and mono-linguistically challenged, “Demonio” looks and sounds an awful lot like “Domino”.  Hmmm…

Family Fur's Exciting Plans

Phil has a bundle of true-life fur stories yet to tell... but there is a lot more to come. First, you will find a series of short-stories (coming soon). These "tails" will feature dogs and cats as central characters, and their adventures should keep you on the edge of your computer chair, anxiously awaiting each new installment.

Also in the works are stories written by Phil, especially for children. These will be made available on the Family Fur website as Children's Audio Books. The younger folk will then be able to sit and enjoy a good pet story just before bed-time. These tot-friendly stories will be the purrrfect seeds for growing some exceptionally sweet dreams.

Take a few moments now to sign up for our Free Newsletter. Then you can be sure to know when the new content is available. With your help, the Family Fur website can become a special center of family entertainment for pet loving folk. Almost like the "old-days", when everyone gathered together around the family's radio set.

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John-John

Yikes... just typing the name brings back "icky" feelings that I remember as a bratty little brother. It was a very long time ago, but I vaguely remember pleading with my sister; "Please... Please don't name him JOHN-JOHN. 

Why not leave it at John? Yeah, John is a good name for a boy dog. But, "John-John" just isn't right! That is a sissy name and he will grow up to be a sissy dog, and everyone will laugh at him and us too!

John-John was an extremely cute Pekinese puppy that had a perpetually oblivious, happy-all-the-time grin on his face. You know... like Garfield the Cat's Ode.  He had a long, flowing, golden-yellow coat, and he pranced around with his fully dressed tail curled forward in a proud salute.

Kitty

Yes, I completely understand that "Kitty" may be a lame name for a pet cat, but that is the name of the first pet cat I had the pleasure of knowing. Perhaps to add insult to injury, we ended up keeping one of her kittens, and promptly named her... "Pussy."

Now, when you really stop and think about it, Kitty worked pretty well, especially when calling for her at the door.  Here Kitty-Kitty-Kitty is much easier than saying... here boots-boots-boots.  Of course, times have changed a lot, so yelling for the other cat may cause some to cringe.

Penny the Dachshund or Cujo’s Mini-Me?

Close your eyes and breathe slowly... deeply. You are warm and relaxed, and you are floating effortlessly. I am with you, holding your hand, leading you back through time. We are almost there.

Open your eyes now, and see that it is dark. We are drifting toward a blue light ahead of us and the darkness is melting away. The blue light begins to swirl, wrapping around us until it fills the sky above our heads. It is late afternoon of a mid-summer day, sometime around 1964.

We are standing on green grass, near the back side of a big two-story house. Two igloo-shaped woodpiles are on our right, and a tall hedge stands behind us along a narrow sidewalk. It leads to a white garage just a few steps away.

I've had a Furry Life.

There are people in this world, who have for whatever reason, never had much contact with animals large or small. In fact, there are people who have never had any contact with animals at all. What a mystery these creatures must seem.

Here's a question that is perplexing about our little furry friends, especially when the question is so difficult to answer about humans. Is there an afterlife for animals, or are they little more than "Meat Robots", put on Earth to entertain those whom God created in His image?