Nanook and Star

Through the years I have encountered many different kinds of dogs with different personalities.  Some dogs are barking and short tempered not wanting to play much.  Other dogs are quiet and lazy.  Our dog, Nanook, is usually running around excited about the adventures of the day.

When Nanook first joined our family, we kept him tied up for a short time.  This was mainly due to this fact: we did not know how our cats, which have never been around a dog, would react.  The second reason is that we were told Nanook might chase the cats.  Stephanie, Chris, and Hannah each took a cat to introduce them.  Each of the cats greeted Nanook with hissing apprehension, but over time the apprehension turned to toleration and later to friendship.  It was fun to observe the friendship develop over time.

It was soon thereafter that we allowed Nanook to roam freely in our fenced in backyard.  Each cat and dog had their own bowl with food to eat for breakfast and dinner and a huge container filled with water that they all drank out of.  This worked great.   

One day after breakfast Star headed toward the side gate to groom himself in the sun.   He did not want to be bothered by Nanook who always liked smelling or licking the heads of each cat.  When Nanook saw Star leaving, he ran toward the side gate and sat in front of it.  Star stopped for a minute.  It was if you could read his mind.  “Well, okay, I will just escape through the two door gate.”  As Star traveled a new direction, Nanook ran and sat in front of the two door gate.  Star stopped again!  Nanook was hunched on the ground wagging his tail wanting to play.  This was just a game and another adventure.  Star then traveled to another gate and Nanook traveled to the gate blocking the way.  I could tell poor Star was becoming frustrated.  As funny as the situation was, I decided to stop Nanook.  “Now Nanook, you need to be nice to Star!”  And that is when Star escaped through the gate.

It is amazing the way God created animals.  Our cats and dog have their own unique personalities and gifts.  For instance our dog is excited, happy, ornery, and looking for adventure.  Our cats are playful, affectionate, and demanding at times.  All of our cats and dog are a blessing and gift from God.