Pet beds are those king- and queen-sized hunks of furniture in the middle of the floor in the human chambers, aren’t they? Pet beds are for our dogs and cats, regardless of our size, irrespective of how much thick dark hair we shed on those three-hundred thread-count sheets, and regardless of how much the human who doesn’t want us in there grumbles and grouses at the human who loves having us smack in the middle of that warm and fluffy bedding on cold and rainy winter nights, aren’t they? The same grumbly grouse might deny it. He or she might have asthma or allergies and might then have an excuse–however flimsy–to keep us from our rightful sleeping quarters. When that’s the case, okay, we concede. And thankfully, some thoughtful designers, manufacturers, and pet companies have made for us pet beds that are quite acceptable. They vary in size, filling, shape, cover design, and material. So we will give in. We will acclimate to our pet beds because they are pretty decent…and there we will stay. Until you leave the house, that is.
Pet Toys
(Cheap, Easily Found, and not Necessarily Easily Destroyed)
My friends have three cats and a doggie, all of whom are lovely, gentle creatures who deserve to be spoiled as much as they are by this [human] childless by a choice couple. These pets have their toy collections, with everything from homemade dolls and more expensive playthings to interactive toys to inexpensive pet toys easily replaced. One week when I was house-sitting, I came out to the living room to find that the dog (again, a very gentle lab and setter mix), Josephine, had gotten hold of one of the handmade knit toys that belonged to the cats and had chewed it all night, so that all I came upon, really, were teeny black shreds of yarn glaring against the white of the carpet. I, of course, at first went into panic mode, so shocked was I by the one little plastic eyeball fluttering amidst the shred piles, so worried was I that the toy was irreplaceable. But within a half-hour, I was lucky: I accessed pet toys online, finding plenty of replacements for the dismembered monkey or whatever it was–that, it turns out, my friends said was no big deal. Thank god for the Internet and cool friends. They have got to be calm, for they have cool pets.
