Dogs or cats?
I’ve preferred dogs over cats, even though I like them too, having dogs around meant security: literally and physically. The area I grew up in is considered “ghetto” by our standards and where I lived is usually where a lot of activities tended to be.
Cops, ambulances, and fire fighters would always show up for something. Not at our property, but rather the properties across from us. It could be in the dead of night and you’d see their colors flashing through the curtains. Having dogs around allowed us to be alerted when someone came near our flimsy fence, whether walking by, walking their pets, stray dogs causing trouble, or people were possibly up to no good. It was better safe than sorry.
Even with security cameras installed outside, I had furry companions to keep me and my family company. My parents, my dad’s older brother, and I lived with my grandma in a 3 generation home. Even though I moved out to experience what living on my own was like, rather out of necessity, I hate myself for leaving because my grandma is over 80. She’s sound of mind and mobile, but my dogs: an older adopted female red nose pit bull mix and one female and one male, both runts of their respective litters, XXL pure blue nose pit bulls, keep her company and watch the property.
Dogs always gave nothing but love: they want to play with you, cause trouble, protect you, even when they rely on us, they have no ulterior motives. Even when my dad and I adopted my old lady dog from the humane society years ago, she used to be a stray and was wild. She would scratch and bite me, but I didn’t care, she was scared.
Even when we brought her home to our other adopted female red nose pit bull mix, they constantly fought until we saw blood. I didn’t want to take her back because Bianca, my old lady’s name, would have been put down, even though she was very difficult to handle. It took her time to get adjusted, then she calmed down, and she would take care of our other dog, Minnie, as she got older in age.
Bianca still waits by the front yard for Minnie because my parents took her to the vet to be put down because she suffered a stroke: couldn’t eat or drink without help, she couldn’t move her lower body nor sit up, and it was a very difficult decision for us to make. She was suffering and Bianca saw us put Minnie in the truck, I stayed behind because I couldn’t watch her go like that, as Bianca tried to break through the fence to follow.
So, when I come home, even before moving out, Bianca waits by the fence, she’ll sleep there or in front of our house door, all of our dogs become outside dogs after a certain age, until we all come home. She takes care of our newer dogs; our girl blue nose, Ka’ena, is much bigger than Bianca, but, once Bianca growls or puts her paw on Ka’ena’s head, she immediately listens, then goes into zooming mode. Bianca isn’t young anymore, but she keeps the younger dogs in line.
The boy, Kainalu, gives Bianca trouble. We don’t know why these two fight if we let them out together to play, but they would growl at each other and they have attacked each other a few times where blood was drawn. However, when I saw them out together when I let Kainalu out to use the bathroom and to play while I washed my car, Bianca pushed her way out of her kennel and the two were egging each other on.
I had to put Kainalu back in his house because he doesn’t know how to pop the lock or can push through his gate, yet, like Bianca. Bianca has more freedoms than the other dogs because she’s older and manages herself better than they do.
All of our dogs are knuckleheads, but they’re our knuckleheads, and I love them very much. I feel less lonely with them, even with family, and they tell you what they want by going in their house for food and water, they sit or wander by us for attention, and they play to get energy out to sleep. People are different and tough to read, but dogs are more honest and trustworthy.
