Sixty-Something: About Cats and Dogs

I have had four dogs in my life. Two family dogs while growing up, and one with my own family with another after my divorce. Amazingly, 48 million households in the U.S.A. have dogs. There is reportedly one cat or dog for every 2.4 people in this country. Also, there are 2.2 million bunnies in around 1.5 million households. The essence of these statistics basically states that Americans love their pets.

Long Island has approximately 459,000 dog-owning households. The east end has dog parks, dog friendly beaches and various leash rules. During the pandemic I interviewed Jake Kommer, the ARF Rescue Director and Volunteer Coordinator. He said at that time he was impressed with  “the outpouring of generosity,” and that the ARF support at that critical time was “absolutely heartwarming.” In fact, during the pandemic donations to ARF increased. East End folks love their cats and dogs. Over the years I have had the opportunity to write a few stories about pet cats and dogs.

Back a few years ago I used to watch a guy paddleboard off Ditch Plains with three small dogs sitting on the nose of his paddleboard. While my beagle Bo was still alive, I frequented the Springs Dog Park and experienced that unique community of dog owners. The pride, the love, and the dedication to their dogs was fascinating. We all talked about our dogs; their diets, their illnesses, what they loved to do and great places to take them.

I have to share this one story. After my divorce my dog was with me 24/7. The beagle would go on stage with me at the Stephen Talkhouse while I sang karaoke. He sat in the corner of Liars Saloon and slept while I socialized there. Bo sailed with me daily; he was a good-hearted, quiet, great dog. One night I was coming home from an event in the Springs when I stopped at the entrance to Boatyard Road off Three Mile Harbor Road to get something out of my trunk.

I watched him slowly step out of the car, perhaps to relive himself on a nearby tree. That night there was a misty, foggy rain and then I looked up and the dog was gone. Every dog owner knows that feeling. I started calling his name but he was nowhere to be found. Finally, I decided to go to my sailboat and get the big flashlight to search for him.

I walked down to the boatyard and quickly walked through the rain to my boat. When I got to the boat there he was, lying in front of the boat. Bo looked up at me as if to say, “What took you so long?” He thought we were going sailing.

When I first met Cindi, who later became my wife, she was amazed at how Bo knew how to open the automatic rear car window to stick his head out. In the winter I would often put the child lock on to prevent this. You could hear the dog tapping the window lever with his paw and wondering why the window wouldn’t open.

As for a cat story, here is one cat owners can relate to. During the time I was living in Manhattan my friend’s girlfriend had to fly to Chicago for a sales meeting. I was given the job of feeding the cat and then to be in her apartment when the vet came to give the cat a shot for its diabetes. This went on uneventfully for five days. On day six, the day the vet was to come, I entered the apartment and couldn’t find the cat. I had been instructed to leave the bedroom window slightly open because the cat loved to look out and feel the breeze. Suddenly I feared the cat somehow got out and went down the fire escape.

In total panic mode, I left a voicemail message to the owner. No texting back then. While in that panic of where is the cat, the doorbell rang and sure enough it was the vet. Of course, he was in a hurry and not amused that I did not know where the cat was. When he was about to leave, my Nokia cellphone rang and it was the owner. She laughed, then told me to look under her bed where there were boards to hold up the mattress. Sure enough, that’s where the cat was. The vet gave her the shot and left. I am positive all cat owners have similar stories. We all love our pet stories.