Dogs are the eighth wonder of the world! I wonder if there are dogs on other planets; if so, they’re a wonder of the universe!
My cat, Penelope, has issued the official declaration, it being cold out, this being her and my first winter together, she doesn’t like snow. Which makes sense, because it probably hurts her paws. When she goes outside (part of my program to fulfill all her needs), she continues, only outside now, to sit in one place for a long time. Extended sitting, she probably feels, is impractical when your feet hurt. (Don’t think about that too hard.)
So that got me thinking.
Dogs are descended from wolves, and have specially-designed paws that tolerate hanging around in the snow for long enough periods to outdo any other animal involved. Like me, trying to get Ziggy out of the woods, in the dark, deep in the snow, when we lived in Tiverton, RI. It was so difficult to maneuver and locate a dog that has the upper hand in those conditions, I felt, while hunting a Pit Bull in the darkening forest, the superiority of the wolf.
The wolf, the world’s best hunter; a top best-built animal-on-the-planet; a survivor Canada to Mexico. An animal we can learn from; a winner in the animal game.
The wolf, who would look at you and me and marvel at our ability to stand upright, but still a critter smart enough to know and clever enough to remind us like a jab to the gut, you will never find me in the woods. I will win.
Your common housedog is domesticated, but not much different than a genuine wolf. His game is mostly to wait, communicate, triangulate and outsmart. Yes, he is playing a game with you, and may be marvelously better than you!
For he is a wolf at heart. It’s nature’s way of bringing the two top dogs together. Penelope and her cat friends can hang in the trees in the winter, hoping for a warm breeze or convenient catch, like waiting for nature to maidservant them, while the wolf works in any weather, in numbers, with the tenacity, accuracy and skill of an Olympic champion.
Of course, cats are cuddlier, if you can find them. They play the invisible game to teach us their superiority comes from never getting involved in the first place. It’s charmingly interesting that cats and dogs, two such impressively-different kinds of animals, are the two human favorites to domesticate and gain the favor of a relationship with. These two animals, cats and dogs, have fundamentally different philosophies about life.
Dogs are loyal. Demonstrative of their faith. They actively pursue team communication, cooperation and success.
It’s not even necessary, and I don’t think they would mind either, and this not being a strict journalistic piece, for me to state the previous trying to show the cat’s point of view. One of the beautiful things about cats is, none of us, and particularly the cat, care very much.
To be perfectly fair and impartial, dogs are cuddly too.
So power to the dog! Like your mighty wolf brother may you be healthy, forge your path with strength and have many packs and families throughout the land!
As far as which one’s better … cats or dogs … it’s easy, I think, to see, it’s dogs … because no matter what the weather … they poop outside.