Tag Archives: pets

Design, purpose, and practice

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I was having a coffee with a friend just outside of a Starbucks on a beautiful, sunny morning, when we witnessed a dog owner tie his dog to this post and head into the coffee shop..

“ATTENTION
PET OWNERS
DO NOT LEAVE PETS UNATTENDED”

A few things occurred to me:

  1. The sign (obviously) isn’t going to stop the behavior.
  2. The sign is at the wrong height… it should probably be at the height that the person would tie the dog to the post. (Which would also make tying the dog there more difficult as well as being more likely to be read.)
  3. The sign doesn’t solve the problem. Dogs can’t go into the store, and a pet owner will still leave their dog tied somewhere, so they can quickly grab a coffee.

I don’t know what the solution is? Even if the post wasn’t there, the pet owner could use the tree that’s just a few feet away… but I think it’s funny that the very post with the sign is the most convenient place for dog owners to leave their unattended pet.

I understand that this has potential to cause issues, with strangers (potentially kids) petting the dog, or other dogs passing by with their owners taking issue with the tied up dog. But is there something else that can be done? Is there a way to design a store line up that is dog friendly? Is there a way a dog owner could be queued in a line from outside the store? Could there be a location the tied up and unattached dog is less likely to be an issue?

The purpose of the dog owner is to respect the rules that dogs don’t come into the coffee shop, and so they leave the dog outside momentarily while they grab a coffee. The purpose of the sign is to stop unattended dogs from being a safety issue. This is a common practice with dog owners, and I struggle to think of a time that I’ve seen an unattended dog cause an issue.

So is this just an etiquette thing where owners of dogs that shouldn’t be left alone simply shouldn’t do so, and just forgo the sign? Do we need to have a sign to prevent stupidity? Or is this actually an important enough issue to warrant a sign? If so, what solutions can we come up with?

PS. I think it’s worth mentioning that I don’t own a dog.

Lap cat

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Our cat has gotten a lot more affectionate over the past couple years. He used to come on to our laps only if we gave his favourite brush a shake. The brush has a loose metal cap on the wooden handle and it rattles a bit when you shake it.

A few years back he would come to me and meow, waiting for me to pick up the brush, and I’d just pat my lap and wait. Most days he’d just leave, but sometimes he’d jump up and sit on my lap and I’d give him a good scratching.

Sometimes, like this morning, he sits facing away from me, and after a couple scratches he settles in. Other times he wants the full massage, faces me, and even gives me an affectionate nose bump.

He’s slowly gone from a cat that had to be coaxed onto our laps to a full time lap cat, jumping on our laps a few times a day. Honestly, I think I enjoy his lap time more than he does.

Cuddle cat

The newest part of my morning routine is that while I sit in our basement, covered in a blanket, writing my morning post, my cat jumps on my lap for a cuddle. Sometimes he naps.

He used to only jump up if we had his brush in our hand, but since the disruption of our house for renovations, he has adopted the habit of coming on our laps even if we don’t have the brush. He stays for all of 5 minutes then he’ll go lie down on his scratching pad, but it’s nice to have our cat jump up and sit on us without having to bribe him with a brush.

His only other cuddle time is early in the morning when he will put his paws on my chest and wake me up. I pet him for a few seconds, then he goes on top of my wife, purrs for a few seconds, then cuddles in on top of her head. I don’t mean next to her head, I mean he full on spoons her head and puts his head on top of hers. He will sleep there for 10-20 minutes.

If my wife is on her back, he will do this on her chest and tuck his head under her chin. But usually she’s on her side and he nests on top of her head.

He never cuddles with me in bed. I get a chuckle out of the fact that he wakes me up just long enough to see him cuddle with my wife. It’s like he’s saying, “Hey you, look what I get to go do.” 🤣

Anyway, this new routine doesn’t slow me down, it just helps my day start off in a great way. Nothing like your pet giving you a little cuddle to start your morning off right.

Morning cuddles

Well now I’ve run out of time to get my workout in before my first errand of the day… but when your cat decides to jump on your lap while you are meditating, and he snuggles in, it’s kind of hard to move.

He has hunkered down for a nap, and I can’t get myself to move him.

Our cat usually only gets on our lap when we have his brush, but he has become a lot more affectionate in the last few weeks. He’ll jump up on me, look my in the eye, and bump our noses. Then he’ll settle in for a good pet. Usually it’s about 2-4 minutes and he’s had enough, only longer if we are brushing him.

This morning has been a full on settle-in-and-get-comfortable moment and I’ve been ‘stuck’ here for a good 20 minutes. But if I’m completely honest, this is a nice place to be stuck.

A moment to paws

Our cat has an early morning routine. He comes to me, crawls on my chest, starts purring, and waits for me to pet him a few times. He doesn’t really settle in. Then he goes to my wife and flops on her head, purring away.

Today we both got the flop.

It’s a nice way to wake up before your alarm, not as nice when it’s over an hour plus before your alarm… but I’m not complaining. It’s a pretty wonderful morning routine, and one that made me ‘paws’ and reflect on the simple pleasures in life this morning.