Playing Favorites

Fiona, Lily and Dugan (laying on Ottoman)

My husband Alex has been bugging me lately that I am playing favorites with the animals. He claims that Lily and Sully are getting special treatment and extra praise. To which I say - Horsefeathers!

He also loudly announces to all the four pawed creatures in earshot that "Daddy loves you all equally! Not like the Bad Lady who plays favorites!" (oh yes, did I mention he often calls me the Bad Lady in front of them? As in "Is the Bad Lady trying to clean your ears?" or "Why is the Bad Lady laying like a pretzel on the floor restraining you and cutting your nails?" )

This Bad Lady is turning into the Mad Lady.

Okay, first off I wouldn't be the "Bad Lady" if Alex would actually do some of the more unsavory aspects of animal care. Any fool can walk in the house and hand out cookies like a mob boss handing out c-notes and be adored. Real love is scaling tartar off the cat's upper molar with your finger nail as said cat sinks their claws deeper and deeper into your forearm. Sure, Alex is the big hero handing out the leftover steak from dinner but who sniffs their butt's for evidence when unsuspected anal gland problems arise? Yes, me... the Bad Lady, the same lady that forces the medication down their throat they need to live because Daddy doesn't want to hurt their feelings.

As for playing favorites I think it's all much to do about nothing. We have 2 cats, Brody and the aforementioned Sully. Brody adores Alex and gravitates towards him, so of coarse I give more attention to Sully! He comes to me more often than Brody! I love Brody to pieces and I give her tons of love and attention, but given the choice she will go to Alex who will whisper soft nothings in her ear about what the Bad Lady is up to.

Lily our latest setter rescue likewise has bonded to me. Given the fact that a majority of the animals we rescue develop hero-worship for Alex I silently enjoy the fact that she wants to be with me more than Alex. But lets look at the reality of the matter, it's not that I am praising Lily all the time and ignoring the other dogs. Lily is just such a goodie two shoes, while the other dogs are well, um, working on trying to be um, semi-good...sometimes.

I love them all, I adore them all. They are all different and the old adage is true...you'll catch more bees with honey than vinegar. In this house it's...you'll get more praise if you are well behaved than if you are causing a commotion.

Lily is obedient, sweet and respectful of all creatures and people. She will quietly sit near me and chew on a toy. Fiona will come over and steal said toy and shred it to pieces as Lily sits with tail wagging like "okay - you have it! Oh, do you want my bone too? Sure, take it!"

Caelan will block all the dogs from entering the doggie door to go back inside the house like some type of mean prison warden. Dugan and Fiona will chase her, howl, bark and cause a ruckus until I intervene. Lily will go sweetly lay on the other side of the deck far from the scuffle until the dust settles.

Dugan, well, Dugan is just naughty. He will be 11 and he still acts 11 months. He still has to be on lock down behind a baby gate when we eat dinner to curb his counter surfing for remnants or stealing items directly off the stove as they cook. He rummages through guests handbags when they visit our home and eats their breath mints, he howls like a banshee if anybody walks near our fence. His latest obsession is shredding toilet paper rolls in our guest room. It goes without saying I recently bought the giant big over sized rolls at Sam's Club. He steals them directly off the toilet paper holders in our bathrooms so now we have to put our toilet paper high up out of reach. A fact I forget every time I sit on the toilet until it's too late. Oh and my guest room often looks like a ticker tape parade came through it.

Last week Dugan stole a box of crackers from the kitchen table and was tearing it open to commence feasting in the family room. Fiona and Caelan joined in the buffet and I entered the scene to see Lily laying on the other side of the room with a curious look on her face like "Are they making smart choices here?"

It's not that I favor her and garner her with praise for no reason. She's just well behaved. It's a novelty in this house.

I love all my furry kids, warts and all. I find their hyperactivity...spirited! I find their disobedience...free thinking! Even when they break into the garden and eat my ripened tomatoes I applaud their sense of getting extra vegetables in their diet. I see the good in the bad and that my friends makes me far from being The Bad Lady. It makes me one damn good Dogmom.