Brandy's Troubles

I needed to stretch my legs yesterday after a morning of photo editing so I asked my dog, Brandy, if she'd like to go for a walk (yes I have to ask as she does not always want to walk). She agreed (a head-cock and a wag of the tail) so off we went.

At the corner of our first turn lives a retired school teacher, a very personable lady with a passion for animals and in particular, cats. She seems to have a geat number of them, though I don't dare ask how many exactly. I'm not so sure even she knows. We affectionately refer to her as the "Cat Lady". Now there is one cat who can be seen regularly patrolling her property. He is a robust fellow, and quite striking with his big black and white spots. The kids in the neighbourhood refer to him as Mr. Moo-Cat for his resemblance to a Holstein cow.

As an aside I have noticed in past when I walk my dog past a cat in someone's yard, they usually do one of 3 things; run away, hide under the nearest car, or as a last resort if they are caught by surprise and there is no time for the first 2 choices, they will flatten themselves to the ground so as not to be noticed. Picture a smaller version of a lioness hunting a herd of gazelle, but replace the tall savannah grass with a shortly mowed lawn and you get the picture.

Well that is what MOST cats do, but not Mr. Moo-Cat. You see, Brandy happened to choose Moo-Cat's front lawn to do her business on. Poor dog was having...er... a bit of a difficult time shall we say, when Moo-Cat decided he would wander over and make Brandy's aquaintance. Well what a spectacle we must have been, Brandy with her troublesome business, proceded to do the "butt shuffle" on the lawn, I am struggling to hold onto her leash and pooper scoop with a grocery bag, and the rolly polly feline trying to befriend us, quite enjoying this meet and greet we have put on seemingly for his benefit! To add insult to injury, there is a steady stream of teenagers coming down the sidewalk on their way home from high school. My cheeks start to flush as I realize they are smirking and pointing at I assume my dog's obsene antics. I couldn't take it anymore so I promised Mr. Moo-Cat we'd return another time when Brandy was feeling better. As I steered my poor dog home I could still hear the cruel whispers and snickers from the sidewalk as Brandy tried a last ditch effort to drag her behind down the middle of the street we had to cross. I found myself looking over my shoulder just to make sure the sounds weren't coming from the cat...