Animal House

Admittedly, against all odds, I am, a dog person, or more generally,  an animal person. But what exactly  does this mean? If it means I'm a tad cooky, then I am fine with that. I even embrace cat people now.   Can you even believe it?   

I was not raised by "dog people."  Oh no. I was raised by the the     other. My parents do not even enjoy when other people have indoor pets. So, I group them into the non-animal-people  (but polite enough to give your pet a little pat on the head if you have one)     group. In fact, I don't know that any one of of my four grandparents has ever had an indoor pet, so neither of my parents lived with indoor pets, and that's how    that panned out in the first half of the 20th century. 

Thanks, though, to the vast gene pool, which seems indifferent to one's immediate past and sometimes dips back into time, I came out an "animal person" because I   assume that someone somewhere in my geneology loved animals. There is simply no   other explanation for this one - it's all nature and no nurture in my case. In    fact, not one of my siblings has any interest in having a pet. *Disclaimer: my    sister does claim to be an animal person, and I'm hoping she gets a dog soon      (Jury is still out on this one).

Let me break it down for you. Since I was very young, I have had a  a lot of      animals. Many have involuntarily shared a part of their lives with me. My dad's   inability to say no to me won out over my parents' true wish to not be bothered by having a pet along with 4 kids. This worked out great for me! Baby deer,         countless mini-lop rabbits, dogs, pastel-colored dyed Easter chicks, ducks, calfs - the whole lot of them at one time or another. 

Twice, one of my brothers did go through some short-lived animal-loving periods.  First instance: He wanted a couple of gerbils for Christmas Eve. Two little gerbils - easy enough. The pet shop had assured my dad that they were both females, but they were in fact not two females and, as fate would have it, they got busy and   one of them gave birth to around SEVEN babies on Christmas Eve. SURPRISE! Now     there are 9 gerbils in the family who were delegated to the garage-only area      instead of 2. Not exactly a mistake that Santa should have made. Ehem. 

Second instance: Same brother wanted an iguana. Dad (always dad) drove him to the pet store to get the terrible creature of a pet, and I am 90% positive my mom's   power of prayer worked on this one, because the second he got out of the car at   our house to take the iguana inside, it darted into the yard, never to be seen    again. WHAT a miracle, I'm sure my mom thought. I think the iguana had heard the  rumor that he would have to sleep in the garage! This was around the end of my    parents animal house phase and besides the occasional outdoor dog, around the age of 12, my animal days ended for a time being.

To each his own, I like to say. If you are not sure what side of the farm fence    you would land on when it comes to being an "animal person," or, in the least, a "dog person," then these qualifying factors might help you.

Are you an animal person?

You might be an animal person if:
1. Has at least 1 non-human living being roaming around their home or at least    like the idea of it
2. Is not bothered by animal "extras" (ie. shedding, accidental poops and chewed  items)
3. After you hear someone telling a story about something funny/exciting their    child did, you then proceed to tell a story about how your dog LOVES the movie    Marley and Me.

You are not an animal person if:
1. You have no idea why people let non humans in their house
2. You can't imagine dealing with the animal extras
3. You roll your eyes after the animal person (above) tells said story and you    continue your story about your child

I think, though, that even if you weren't born with a love of animals, you can    love one if you give it a shot. In 2007, the family dog, Mia came to live with me (FINALLY!!), and I was suddenly a true animal person. Mia doesn't even know that  all the other animals had to sleep outside! I definitely think my dog communicates things to me, and so.... it must be true. There's a certain whine for "I have to pee" and another for "I want to go for a walk" - I swear! 

OH, It's truly a dog's life, even when Mia eats through the trash on a random     hunger binge. To that, my mom will graciously remind me, "It's your dog."