A Boy and His Dog . . . and His Cats and His Other Dog and His Chipmunk: Part II
Benji is eleven inches tall at the shoulders, has seven inch legs, and weighs fourteen pounds. He has a hairless potbelly which is stained bright red from the iron ore-rich ground he walks on.
Benji loves everyone and is a patient and serene beast. He allows cats to sleep with him, as long as they don’t try to lay on him. When he walks, he wobbles from stern to bow in an appealing waddle.
Above anything else in the world, Benny loves food. Although dry food is left out for the dogs, they still receive a canned treat in the evening, and Benny’s day is centered on this event. While he’s sucking up this canned food, his little body stiffens like a puppy’s, and—between the slurping sounds—can be heard little snuffles, snorts, and moans of pleasure.
This [consumption] has to be done quickly, because the cats are sure to leave some food on their plates, and this fact is foremost in his thoughts before his food is even gone. If he’s not watched, he will bully the cats away from their plates and their food. Finally, he winds up laying on the couch, belly swollen and breathing labored, with a sickly look on his face and periodically passing a foul wind which has on occasion emptied entire rooms.
His constant companion and canine “sibling” is Ammers, the spaniel. She is half chocolate Lab and half Springer. She is a loving soul with eyes the angst in which few have ever seen. She is also loaded with sex appeal and draws males too our door monthly, but chooses to remain chaste. She has already fulfilled her destiny as a parent however, in the embodiment of her adopted son, Kuda the cat.
Two years ago, my daughter was riding home from school with a friend and saw a car stop at the side of the road. The front door opened, and out flew a small kitten, about two months old. When I got home that night, this little guy was already integrated into the household. About a week later, I noticed that Ammers was giving him baths and sleeping with him, and he had started to suckle on her. At first I found this disgusting; it didn’t seem natural to me. Shortly after, Ammers started to give milk, and Kuda continued to nurse on her for several months until she gently weaned him by moving every time he made an attempt. Now they are the closest of soul mates, sleep together every night, and continue to bathe each other. Kuda is the only creature Ammers will actually play with.
Old Peppermint, my fifteen-year-old white Tom, has never been much of a fighter or a hunter. When mice come out at night, Pep is sleeping with me, because he’s been terrorized by more than one vicious little rodent. Which brings me to Rodney. Rodney is a friend of Pep’s who lives in the woods behind the house. He’s a giant male chipmunk. I’ve seen these two wrestling and playing tag in the yard , and when they both tire, they take a little snooze together and then go their separate ways home. I suppose Rodney is exceptional for his race. He doesn’t seem to be afraid of me, either. If I get within a foot or so of him he simply walks away a little and then stops and gazes calmly.