What have you learned from your pet?
Okay, so on Father’s Day of 2009 I found myself at Newark airport to pick up a dog that was going to be put to sleep in Denmark. Yup, Denmark. I’m not sure how I get involved in this stuff but a friend of mine was in Europe and came upon a dog that was 8 weeks old. The owner couldn’t keep him so my friend frantically sent out emails asking someone to take the dog. That’s Jack on the left in the photo above.
Enter Robert. I took the dog site unseen because that’s what I do. It turned out the dog was a Belgian Shepherd. A Malinois to be exact. I thought they said Mallomar but that’s a cookie.
After picking him up I then looked his breed up on the internet. My jaw dropped. All I remember it saying was the dog would be 80 pounds. 80 POUNDS???? I adopted a pony. I named him Jack, and as Jack grew I grew to love and respect this guy.
Jack is my best friend and I don’t know what my life would be without him. He has his own Facebook page with a lot of friends and can do so many tricks it blows my mind. His best is the way he goes backwards and plays soccer. He is an awesome goalie. I’ve taught him sit, down, stay, come, backup and other tricks, and he has taught me patience. Something I’ve never had.
I have always wanted things to happen immediately but teaching Jack all his tricks and being patient with him paid off. It’s funny that a 66-year-old guy learned a valuable lesson from a 10-month-old pony, I mean dog. Jack just turned 10 this year. He still teaches me things but only if I give him a treat. Yay Jack!
If you send me some pictures of your pets I’ll post them. Also tell me something about them. I love animals.
What are the most popular pets?
I just heard this the other day. The most popular pet in the country is the dog. Followed closely but the cat. Here is the list of the top 12 pets and how many. Wow, that’s a lot of pets.
1. Dogs 43,021,000
2. Cats 37,460,000
3. Fish 9,036,000
4. Birds 4,453,000
5. Horses 2,087,000
6. Rabbits 1,870,000
7. Turtles 1,106,000
8. Hamsters 826,000
9. Livestock 728,000
10. Lizards 719,000
Here’s a funny animal joke. LOL
A well-known art collector is walking through the city when he notices a mangy cat lapping milk from a saucer in the doorway of a store.
The collector does a double-take. He sees that the saucer is extremely old and very valuable. He walks casually into the store and offers to buy the cat for two dollars.
The store owner replies, “I’m sorry, but the cat isn’t for sale.”
The collector says, “Please, I need a hungry cat around the house to catch mice. I’ll pay you 20 dollars for that cat.”
“Sold!” says the store owner and he hands over the cat.
The collector continues, “Hey, for the twenty bucks I wonder if you could throw in that old saucer. The cat seems to be used to it and it’ll save me from having to get a dish.”
The owner says, “Sorry buddy, but that’s my lucky saucer. So far this week I’ve sold sixty-eight cats.”
The Challenge:
So here is my challenge for you guys and girls. What have you learned from owning a pet? I’ve learned patience but I also learned that when Jack gets into the garbage I’ll be up and outside most of the night. I’ve also learned that it take 30 days for a dog to learn a command. That’s true.
Tell me, what have you learned from your pet, and also tell me what your pet has learned from you.