Al - Riley's 2nd best friend

Al is my ginger cat. His full name is Alexie. He's named after Sherman Alexie, a writer who comes from this area, the Inland NW. I've had Al for a couple of years; he's the pet with seniority. I found Al in a grounds of a former work place. From the windows of the building I worked in, I watched as he introduced himself to people time and again. People would stop and pet him and move on. Al looked like he was in need of a home. I suspected that he wasn't from the neighborhood, but rather had been dumped off. So I took him home.

I thought he was a girl; he was so pretty. I worried he was pregnant. When I took him to the vet's office, I relayed my concern. When the vet got a good look at him, he said,"I'd be the biggest fool in the county to spay this cat. He's a neutered male." So Al went from the name Fiona (meaning beautiful in Scottish Gaelic) to Alexie right then and there.

Being a very laid back cat, Al adjusted to Riley with no problem. There is a little sibling rivalry at times, but all in all they do well together. Riley is sweet natured and is not prey driven like my former dog Ellie had been (she tolerated "her" cats only because her pack leader expected her to do so). However, Riley is playful and must be supervised with Al. The "Don't touch" command is working well. When Riley looms over Al, I just say, "Don't touch" and she backs off. It took some work to get her to that point, but Al played along and didn't complain. Al is a very self-possessed cat and doesn't spook easily.

Gone Visiting

Riley is with me while I pet sit for a friend. She was not happy to be here in the beginning and kept going to the front door and bouncing on it with her front paws (fortunately her nails had recently been clipped). She had turned up her nose at the spacious, tree filled, fenced backyard. All she wanted was to go home. Before too long she became accustomed to her new surroundings and got back to her "happy go lucky" self.

Tansy and Brendan are the occupants of the "new surroundings." Tansy is a pup - less than 6 months old, a lab/husky mix with large green eyes and ears that, when they are sticking straight up, resemble those of a rabbit. They are really large in relation to rest of her, except for her feet that is. Her roommate Brendan is an elderly dog. He reminds me of a stately gentlemen. He doesn't interact much with the youngsters but rather observes from a distance. Brendan is a Golden Retriever/hound mix. The hound part of him is evident when he talks. It's more of a baying sound than a choppy barking sound.

Riley is accustomed to getting up in the morning and playing with her aunt Della ( a patient soul). She likes to roughhouse - tug on Della's collar and jump on her. This morning there is no Della, but there is Tansy. Tansy is a quarter of Riley's size so she postures from under my chair on the patio. When the taunts get too loud (from them both), I resort to "Don't touch" and "Enough" commands that Riley knows well. That's not to say that she complies at first. I'm not naturally an alpha in temperament (I've got to work on that.), so my commands often come out more like suggestions or requests, the tone is all wrong. I have to repeat myself and make my tone more authoritative.

With Tansy so much smaller, I've supervised the play times closely. Naturally I feel I need to be protective of my little charge, but she has surprised me. Inside of her is an alpha dog, I think. I'd given all the dogs a biscuit. For some reason Riley did not eat hers right away. Tansy gulped hers down and walked over and took Riley's biscuit right from under her nose, literally. There was no sneaking around; it was a bold move. Tansy even gave a little growl as she did it. Riley didn't care. According to her dog trainer, Riley is a "middle of the road" kind of dog. She just takes life easy and gets along with everybody. I wish I were more like my dog sometimes.