Do people overcompensate, madly, for their dogs' shelter experience?
Yes.
Deep down we know that, although dogs and cats undoubtedly sleep more comfortably on cushions that are washed in boiling-hot water, regularly, to get rid of any fleas, dogs don't have human bodies and don't really need human-shaped beds. They may like lying on our beds--it fits into their instinctive sense of evidence that they're close to the leader of their pack!--but they do not sleep better when coaxed to imitate our sleeping positions. That dog in the picture has been carefully trained to hold a pose his humans consider cute, and his real thoughts might well be "Can I get up and have my treat yet?"
Cats are usually harder to train to hold the "cute" poses. Some cats are patient enough to endure being forced into human doll or baby clothes without doing much damage to their humans' hands. Do we want to see what they do to the clothes?
It's been quite an experience to nurse my cat Serena through a serious illness. While her life was in danger Serena lay for hours on the bench beside me, as close to me as possible; mostly she slept in a curled-up cat position but occasionally she assumed a stretched-out cat position not altogether unlike the position of the dog in this picture. (Serena didn't want pillows under her head. Part of the difference between Serena's recovery and her daughter Pastel's failure to recover, when they were gushing vital fluids out at their faces, was that Serena rested with her head lower than her body, letting toxins flow out, and Pastel rested her head on a pillow, apparently letting toxins flow back in.) She was chilly and feverish and sometimes seemed to welcome a blanket, or the body-heated tabard I'd been wearing, draped loosely above her--not tucked in snugly around her. She submitted to having blankets drawn tightly around her when it was necessary to restrain her for medication, and, like all cats, she hated that whole process and anything that reminded her of it. However, if she was resting on a corner of my heavy knitted tabard, I could sometimes get up without disturbing her by peeling off the tabard and draping it over her.
As soon as she began to recover energy and feel like herself, even for an hour or so at a time, Serena stopped resting in positions that could have reminded anyone of either a human infant or a kitten. Many cats do like to regress to kittenlike behavior; that's why they like to snuggle up to us and knead us with their paws. Serena's not that type. During convalescence she often curled up in a ball on the floor. Her preferred resting position when she feels healthy is, however, mostly in a loaf position in a place where she can look down on things. Her most frequent complaint was that the window sills in my office room aren't wide enough to form a proper window seat for a largish cat. She didn't like being told not to sit on things that wouldn't support her weight, and even more she didn't like finding out that they wouldn't support her weight. She lost interest in sitting on the bench beside me and, if she did sit on my lap to show affection for an hour or so, when she wasn't feverish she did not want my tabard draped over her.
Petfinder photo contest winners at this web site usually show animals whose "cute" trappings are limited to collars or harnesses. The position of this web site is that, if people want to dress up dolls or stuffed animals, they should get dolls or stuffed animals and not try to force living animals to stand in for the toys the humans' own inner children want to play with. Some human adults really need to get to know some children who will share dolls the humans can dress up and tuck into beds.
Our house pets are not human babies, even if the ones with whom we usually feel most comfortable are similar to human babies in size. They are adults of their own kind. It's easier to communicate with them if we think of them as adults. Their thoughts and feelings are likely to be more nearly analogous to human adults' rather than human babies'...unless, of course, they are baby or juvenile animals. A kitten may be a "boy" cat. A full-grown tomcat is easier to understand by analogy to a man rather than a little boy.
Here are this week's photo contest winners:
Zipcode 10101: Precious from NYC
His web page: https://www.petfinder.com/cat/precious-75563507/ny/new-york/anjellicle-cats-rescue-ny488/
He spent some time in an alley but was rescued early enough to be considered a tame cat rather than feral. He's described as shy with new people but friendly once he gets to know them. He is neither a baby boy nor a baby girl. Though beautiful, he is a neutered tomcat.
Zipcode 20202: Karen from South Carolina via DC
Her web page: https://www.petfinder.com/cat/karen-75549937/dc/washington/final-victory-animal-rescue-sc497/
She's slim because she's still growing, or was when photographed--just one year old. Though known to have been born with some weaknesses that might make her a poor choice for a barn cat, Karen's life expectancy as an indoor pet should be about normal. She's still a kitten; she likes to purr and cuddle, or play with toys, and may follow humans around the house.
Zipcode 30303: Sammy from Atlanta
His web page: https://www.petfinder.com/cat/sammy-75550788/ga/atlanta/joyful-pets-animal-rescue-ma499/
Known to be thirteen and a half years old, Sammy came to a shelter because his human had cancer. He is a big old spoiled pet. He has been encouraged to plop his considerable size right down on top of a sleeping human. Apparently his human found this a pleasant way to be awakened in the morning. With a feeling of "Rather you than me," I note that his is, still, the cutest photo that we have not discussed before, recently, at the Petfinder page for Atlanta. If I had to live with this cat I'd lock him out of any human sleeping quarters at night, but he is said to be a lovable pet, anyway.
And the dogs...
Zipcode 10101: Bailey from NYC
Though believed to have survived on the streets for six years, Bailey is said to be a typical, lovable golden retriever type. Like Marley. Not the brightest or most teachable of dogs, but always well-meaning; the sort of dog who easily learns to walk at someone's heel, except when it sees an irresistible body of dirty water to dive into. People tend to put up with retrievers because they really seem to love their humans.
Zipcode 20202: Sadie from DC
Her web page: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/sadie-75611023/dc/washington/blue-ridge-border-collie-rescue-va128/
Sadie may have fallen into the hands of control freaks but she is the sort of dog who would trigger that mania to see your house and make it difficult for you to adopt her. Despite a relatively reasonable adoption fee, Sadie appears to be a classic Border Collie in search of a good job. She's demonstrated that she's a fast learner of basic pet dog skills. She's done reasonably well in "agility classes" intended to stimulate the brains of city dogs. She's not been around cats, but has been in a foster home where she's demonstrated that she gets along well with other dogs and humans. You don't have to have sheep for her to herd but you need to have a job as well as a home for this dog.
Zipcode 30303: Moose from Atlanta
His web page: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/moose-75607593/ga/atlanta/joyful-pets-animal-rescue-ma499/
One thing is said to keep Moose from being the perfect pet. He has epilepsy. He's had four seizures in the past two years. Seizures could make him dangerous around very small children. Apart from that he's smart, gentle, polite, well trained, and affectionate. He's a Schnauzer, a less popular breed these days. He will turn heads on the street. People will ask. Yes, the face suggests a terrier, but he's bigger than most terriers because he's a different kind of dog. Moose is not the pet everyone wants. Shelter staff realize this and are willing to consider applications from outside Georgia. They think he'd be a great pet for the right person.
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