Dogs have owners

I have some strong views on the eternal debate going on about our pets, especially Dogs Vs Cats.


I am a committed believer that Dogs are the ideal pets. Recently, I read somewhere which tellingly illustrates my feelings towards Dogs ("Wow") and Cats ("Ugh") !

Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.

I heard that dogs are attached to people, while cats are just attached to the houses where they stay. So, when people move houses, dogs are the first ones to move with the people, while cats lazily stay on the roof. (May be the modern cats being kept in flats get packed with all the other belongings and go with the luggage to the new house !)
I once famously commented that Dogs have the most beautiful faces, and I love them next only to girls. As I told this when I was in my early twenties at IRMA, it was considered quite sacrilegious to compare anything with the beauty of girls ! But, I stand by it - even in my early forties ...

When I come back from work, Vennila comes running to welcome me and gives a hug. Such things give a terrific boost to your ego ! For someone who gets his ego boosted by such things, dogs are really the god send. The way they show their affection and loyalty is wonderful. Bala and myself used to feel quite handicapped without a tail - "If only I had a tail, I would have wagged it to show my gratefulness easily. Telling it in hundreds of words, that too in English, is quite complicated", we used to say.

Compare this with the snob called Cat. Comes to you only when it needs some tickling or food. And, leaves just the moment after that. Is it possible to shoo a cat away or order it to stay near you ? Never !


Read this write-up comparing dogs and cats. And, you will agree with me ...

Ever since the dogs' ancestor, the wolf, connived his way into the hunter-gatherer's settlements, the two species have got along famously. there are ever so many tales of the loyalty and bravado of our canine friends, but anecdotes about house cats are seldom heard.

All along, it has been an uneasy alliance. Sure enough, cats keep the rodent population in check, but view us humanbeings with a delicate air of disdain. It is as if we are a matter of some curiosity, but very little importance.

Recently, I read an article by a doctor couple in a newspaper about how a cat strayed into their house (knowing fully well that the wife is a Gynaecologist) when it was fully pregnant, stayed for a few days, delivered the kittens; but moved the very next day to the neighbour's house (because a Paediatrician was staying there) with all her kids. The Gynaecologist seems to have remarked, "Cats know exactly what they want, and they get it too !"

How typical of cats !