Pets as Persons

We buried Chubs this weekend, and the boy cried. Chubs was a lovely little thing, he had bright sparkly black eyes, a chocolate brown coat and a creamy belly. Above all though, Chubs had personality.

RIP Chubs (fancy mouse)
Oct 2013-April 2015

He was, true to his name a rather rotund mouse, who would come down from his bedroom; a large sphere at the top of his house, carpeted with sawdust and soft paper like bedding and he would select a tasty morsel (he had a particular liking for dried sweet-corn), he would clamber into his wheel and sway. Yes, Chubs swayed, he used that wheel like a swing, or even a rocking chair for mice. He very rarely ran about in it, just swayed, chilled out and munched. One time Chubs escaped, and discovered (I guess to his delight) a large bag of that soft paper bedding and so Chubs climbed in. We found him there, stretched out, lounging in a giant mouse bed.

If you put your hand in the mouse house, Chubs would come to see you; he was a friendly mouse and will be sorely missed. OK so I have just described the characteristics of a mouse, Chubs simply displayed mouse behavior right? How can it be then that Allogop same age, same species, though with golden fur and red eyes is such a different character?

I didn't think mice had characters either, yet Allogop, does not sleep in the master bedroom, he drags all the bedding into a much smaller sphere. He is not as friendly as Chubs was; he is a suspicious mouse. Put your hand into his house and he hides. He’ll take a few twitchy steps forward then back away. Unlike Chubs, Allogop lives for the wheel, every night; hour after hour he is sprinting on that thing. Allogop is a lithe mouse he is in training. I get the feeling Allogop has a plan. Who knows what it would be?

I just anthropomorphised  the animals, because that’s what they are; just animals. Not dogs though (or cats so they tell me.)

Doc: Westie-Lakeland-JackRussell Cross aged 11

Everyone knows that dogs have personality; because we give them personalities. No. Not the case. Doc (our eldest dog) had personality when he arrived. When he was a tiny pup he sat in his bed, on his hot water bottle and growled at me. He is still grumpy now, and yet ever so childish. Doc is somewhat like a spoilt toddler.

Charlie our youngest is the baby of the family. He is not only physically tiny, but quick to excite, curious, interested and yet exceptionally gentle, especially considering that he is a Jack Russell.

Charlie 8 month Jack Russell

Doc and Charlie were not purchased as look outs or protectors, or even as good rabbiters. They were purchased as companions, as friends and they do their jobs perfectly. They make us smile, they bring us together, and they get us out on walks. They are members of our family and when they go where the good doggies go, well then I’m sure my heart will break.