Patty and I just got back from vacation and sorted things out with the kitties and their various caregivers for the interim.

First, our little granddaughter fell in love with Pussy and won't let us have her back. When she started regaling guests about 'her Pussy,' Mom and Dad promptly renamed her Miss Kitty.

Then my ex-wife wouldn't let us have Romeow back. We're all good friends, so we decided to leave it that way.

Now we have Traveller, the DSH tuxedo neutered male that's 11 months old; Willoughby, his tortoise-shell brother; and Maccabee, the miniature dachshund.

The other night Patty and I were sitting here watching TV, when Willoughby walked up to Maccabee, who was asleep on the floor, and started swatting his nose and growling. Well, Mac wasn't going to take that from any old cat! Instantly he was on his feet and in fast pursuit. Down the hall and into Patty's darkened office they ran.

Mac's barks went, "Ralph, Ralph, Ralph . . . Yipe, Yipe, Yipe," as he ran back into the living room with Traveller in hot pursuit. Traveller had lain in wait for Willoughby to bring him the mutt (sort of the way wild animals hunt in packs) and had bitten the dog's ear clean through.

What was really funny was they pulled the same thing three times before that dumb mutt caught on and refused to play.

Copyright © David Yehudah
July 19, 1998