Mancat Monday

The two mancats around here, that being Evan and Toby of course, love their pup Astrid. One of their favorite things about her seems to be her smell.

Pardon the quality of this photo, as it was snapped on a camera phone. But, anyway. What you're seeing in that there photo are Toby and Evan thoroughly enjoying Astrid's harness and leash. When I return home from a walk with Astrid, the boys usually intercept me as I remove her harness and leash. I then have to surrender the harness and leash to Toby and Evan, so that they can get their fix. They roll in Astrid's harness and leash, take big whiffs of them, drag them around, and just all around have a grand time with them.

The relationship between the furbabies at our house makes me smile. Don't get me wrong. There are certainly moments of disagreements and discord between the fursibs around here. But, for the most part, I just love watching them all interact. All of the cats just love pup Astrid to pieces. Well, except Eddy, who leaves it at tolerating the dog's existence. The other kitties, though, don't care one bit that Astrid's a dog. They love her no matter her species, and they follow her around, rub on her, and, for some reason, seem to enjoy rolling in her ears.

Astrid, for the most part, just lets the kitties have their way with her. It has always amazed me how terrified Astrid is of other dogs, but how she wants to meet every cat she sees. My parents have 11 cats, and not even a single one of them hide from Astrid. She is so great with cats, that even the ones who loathed the sight of her at first now tolerate her just fine. Oh, and some of my parents' cats also love to have their way with Astrid's harness and leash when she's at their house. Astrid must smell pretty darn good to the kitties in her life.

The fondness the kitties and pup Astrid have for each other, regardless of the classic inimical interactions often expected between these two species, got me thinking about an inspiring quote I've heard before. Though the Sparks blog hop is currently on hiatus, while host Annie of McGuffy's Reader takes a well-deserved blogging break, I figured I would still share this inspiring quote today.

"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wishing all of you a lovely, love-filled day!

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Our Doodle of the Day:

Our foodie doodles continue.

Today's doodle was created in honor or housemate Toby's love for strawberries. Over the next couple of days, our foodie doodles will be ones crafted up specifically for the furbabies around here. After that, we'll be tackling more of the suggestions you all gave us for foodie doodles. We're looking forward to drawing lots of foodie furbabies!

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Our Tip of the Day:

Today's summer safety tip is to be careful around water. Summer often means swimming in pools, or visiting lakes or other bodies of waters. If your dog or cat is with you when you visit the pool or any body of water, always be cautious and keep an eye on them. Though many animals have the instinct to swim when in water, that does not mean they cannot drown in certain situations. So, as needed, block access to pools so that your cat or dog cannot access the water, especially when not closely monitored or when they are not used to being in or near water. If you take your pup or kitty to visit a lake, to go on a boat ride, or to participate in any other similar water activity, keep them near you, such as safe on a leash. In addition to this, you can get flotation devices specifically designed for furbabies. This can come in handy especially for furbabies who are new to water, or if you have any concern for their safety when around water. After all, what do we always say? It's always better to be safe than sorry! So, if your summer plans with your furbaby include some watery ones, plan ahead for their safety.