PAD 3-2 animal

Neighborly Pets

They say grandchildren are best, because you can love on them and then turn them over to their parents and get a good night’s sleep. I don’t know about grandchildren, yet, but it works that way with pets. Since our cat Snickers died, we vowed no more pets, not being worth the time, hassle and expense. However, a big black dog (perhaps a pit bull), and a fluffy orange cat have won my heart. Fortunately, they don’t belong to me.

No more pets for me

Except the neighbors’ black dog

And fluffy orange cat.

The big black dog seems wiser than most, with his square head and alert eyes. He rarely barks at me through the wire fence. Instead, when I make the trek up the hill to throw the trash in the ally container, he walks with me along the fence line. He gives me that look like he wants me to pet him, but I haven’t been brave enough, thinking he might get territorial all of a sudden. Once, as I was trimming bushes along the property line with my clippers, he began chewing the branches on his side of the fence, like he was trying to help me.

We have become friends

The neighbors’ big dog and me

Though not the neighbors.

I don’t know who the fluffy orange cat belongs to, but just about every time I’m outside, the cat comes to greet me. He tries to get in the house, but there’s that no-pets rule. When I go get the mail, he gets underfoot. He used to have a treasure bush in our yard. There he’d stash toys he had swiped from the neighborhood children, such as a rubber duck, a hair brush, and a My Little Pony. One day, I spied the neighbor girl absconding with all the toys from the cat. I’m not sure if they were hers to begin with or not. The cat must have found a safer place to stash his goodies, because he doesn’t use that particular bush anymore.

Big, fluffy orange cat

Busy about neighborhood

I like his visits

I wanted to put a privacy fence up between the neighbor’s and our property. They have a habit of throwing things in my yard, like crab shells, an old pepper and a rotted board. But now I’m thinking twice about it. The neighbors haven’t done much to win my affection, but their dog has.

Sometimes animals

Are easier to befriend

Than some people are