Tigger and Spartacus snuggling – Photo: L. Weikel

Any Port in the Storm

Hey, sometimes it’s just nice to have somebody at your back. Or as my mother used to say, “Any port in the storm.”

Clearly that had to have been what Tigger and Spartacus were thinking the other day when I happened upon this surprising snugglefest taking place on our bed. When I walked up the wooden pie-shaped steps from our kitchen into our bedroom, I fumbled for my phone to capture the unexpected cuteness of the moment.

You can sort of see that Tigger woke up during my effort, which annoyed and disappointed me. They were so cute.

The photo above is ok, and it almost captures the magic – but not quite. If you can imagine it, when I initially walked into the room (in my defense, the wooden stairs do squeak), they were laying in that same position, spine to spine, but Tigger’s head was down and they were both very obviously completely at home and at peace, and deeply asleep. Surprisingly, their trust in each other was complete.

How Rare Is That?

All of which sort of makes me wonder. How rare is that, really? We hear talk of cats and dogs being natural enemies, but I think a lot of that is hype. In fact, in a lot of ways, that supposed rivalry seems more like propaganda that’s oddly based in human gender stereotypes than true feline/canine rivalry or inherent dislike.

I’ll bet almost everyone reading this knows of cats and dogs that have lived beyond peaceably within their own home. Heck, I’ve even witnessed Cletus (who we can all agree is beautiful but a real jerk, what with all his hissing and biting and unwarranted lashing out with claws at no provocation) walk up to Spartacus (who can become wild-eyed and a jerk himself if you try sticking your muzzle into his food bowl) and first flaunt his tail directly in Spart’s face and then turn around, chirrup at him, and groom Spartacus’s ear.

I thought for sure it was going to be curtains for both of them the first time I saw Cletus sidle up to Spartacus that way.

And I’ve seen all three of our cats cuddle with both dogs periodically. I remember having lots of photos of White Satan cuddling with Sheila and Spartacus. And at first, I thought the pups were simply being kind to him, realizing that he didn’t even comprehend that his behavior was socially inappropriate, since he was deaf. But apparently that wasn’t the case.

Makes Me Wonder

So much of what we think is based on stuff we’ve been told all our lives. Much of what underpins our belief systems are thoughts and opinions that we actually have never had to form through personal experience. We’ve simply taken someone else’s word for it. Usually, it was our parents’ word for things, but also our teachers’, our friends’, and the thoughts, prejudices, and assumptions of people on television.

It makes me wonder what life could be like – especially in our country, now, when so many seem to loathe those who aren’t like them – if we could just drop the hype and be real with each other.

Any port in the storm.

If we’re not careful, we may soon experience our own personal ‘any port in the storm’ moment, causing us to care for or be cared for by those whom society, or our parents, or even our president, has told us we should fear or loathe or judge as less than. Maybe then we’ll realize the truth.

What will we do then? How will we love? Will we snuggle up and keep each other warm against the cold?

Sheila, Spart, and White Satan – Photo: L. Weikel

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