My Animal is the 'In' Animal

 Hi there

I've been thinking about how there are people who need to have the latest in pets.   Years ago, when the movie "101 Dalmations" came out, I was tripping over dalmations everywhere I went.  Two of my friends bought dalmation puppies.

Now...?  I havent seen a dalmation dog for yonks.

 Just a few years back, the pug was the trendiest pet to have (think "Men in Black").  Today, the husky is the new reigning king; blame this on "Game of Thrones".

When I decided to get a siamese cat about a dozen years ago, the siamese wasnt all that popular.   But I liked their dainty pony-like way of walking, haughty nose in the air, their obvious inner-knowledge that they were sooooo superior to other cats (and humans)...

I traced down a siamese cat breeder, brought home my little chocolate-point kitten but not before the breeder had handed me the book "Cats in the Belfry" by Doreen Tovey.  She insisted I read it before making any decision about whether or not to adopt a siamese.

OMG...  were siamese cats truly as naughty as Tovey described them?  Could I live with such a pet?

Yes!  I wanted a cat with personality.  And that was exactly what I got.  StarGirl never gave up loudly proclaiming to me her needs and wants in high-pitched siamese squeaks.  And bellows.  She followed me around the house, tail high, bat-like ears flapping, and issuing orders like the queen bee she most certainly knew she was.

There was a song in Disney's "Lady and the Tramp" called  "We are Siamese if you please, we are Siamese if you don't please".  It was StarGirl to a 'T'.  She did whatever she wanted.  My house was her house, and I had better believe it!

Because of "Lady and the Tramp", the siamese cat was initially very popular.  Another movie, "Bell, Book and Candle" (Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon) also showed the siamese  as the perfect pet (for witches!).

And darn Disney!  The Disney people have since deleted the siamese cat song from their movie.  They say it is racist which it definitely is, but, oh, how it portrays the naughtiness of the breed absolutely perfectly.

My siamese passed away a few years' back.  Loved you, StarGirl -

 

Photos i wish I'd taken

 Hi there

There are times I wished I'd had my camera on me.  I must have missed out on dozens of  great happenings.

Like those three cruise ships that were leaving Mt Maunganui on a beautiful blue sky day, with paddle-boarders, kayakers, and swimmers in the foreground, and ship passengers hanging over the railings, shouting their goodbyes.

And what about the time I all but crashed into William Shatner in Las Vegas?  By the time I had fumbled my mobile phone camera out of my bag, switched it on, and turned on the photo app, Shatner had beamed himself away, probably to Caesar's Casino behind me.

I was walking along Cobham Drive one day, beside the sea.  There was a family a short distance in front of me.  Mum, Dad, a boy of about six, and a girl eight.  And a black and white border collie sheep dog.

The children were obviously bored, straying separately to opposite  sides of the track, lagging behind, walking backwards, attempting to skip stones into the water.  The parents weren't even watching the kids.  

But the dog was.  He snuck on his belly over to one side of the track to herd in the girl, then dashed to the opposite side for the other sheep-whoops-sorry-I-mean-child to steer him, too, back toward the parents.  The dog hovered around the two kids for the whole of Cobham Drive, manoeuvring them back when they went off-point.

That would have made a hilarious picture.  I guess urban sheep dogs never lose the thrill of the round-up.

But ...  the ultimate photo would have been the day the plumber came to fix my kitchen water pipes.  He opened the cupboard under the sink and attempted to squeeze his heavy bulk into the narrow crawl-space.  His top-half disappeared into the depths of my pots and pans storage area. 

Gulp, I got an embarrassing view of  plumbers crack!  But, no, that wasn't the photo I would've taken.

I hastened outside for a minute or two, just to allow the man some alone time but when I returned there were two rear ends poking out from that cupboard:  one belonging to the jean-clad plumber, the other was furry and with a tail - my nosey Siamese cat, StarGirl.  

There couldn't have been a finger's-width of space between the pair.  Siamese cats just have to take part in everything that's going on.

The plumber later told me that StarGirl was a bossy plumber's mate, crying out orders to him.  Well, what did he expect, she was a Siamese cat, and they're never willing to take a back seat.

But, oh my goodness, didn't I miss an hilarious photo opportunity that day? 

Above:  guess who?