What Would Happen If....

.... we treated our loved ones the same way we treat our pets?  And what if our pets treated us the same way we treat them? There is a lot of ground to cover in this cosmic wormhole of truth, but let's really think about this for a moment.  Most pets rely on us for protection and food, but they also need companionship and just like asking for food and water, they will ask for your attention. I will start with that.

My furry babies are happy, healthy and quite spoiled. (My great-aunt would say "They're not spoiled. They all smell that way.") They get treats, have loads of toys, get massage therapy daily, and they get to sleep with me. I work with them using hand signals and voice commands.  Oni is the rebel but she listens and minds me most of the time.  Brutus is just a happy little dog who wants to please you 99 out of 100 times.  But some days are better than others for us. Some days I am asked for more love. Oni meows, waves her paws in front of my face...jazz fingers and all, head butts me, and/or lays on my iPad when all else fails.   Brutus wags his tail and taps me gently or stands on the sofa staring at me until I make eye contact. I always apologize to them and tell them I will do better and then I play with them and massage them. They are content and feel well-loved and I feel better too.  So what would happen if your spouse came up and rubbed against you and smiled? Would you be too busy to hug them? Say something playful? Ignore them? Or would you stroke their face and return the smile?

I maintain that we all communicate our needs but sometimes the message is not received, not understood, or not appreciated. Brutus will paw at me when he needs something. If I ignore him he will lean into me with the doggie version of his elbow. Then I ask him questions to see what he is trying to tell me....not quite "Timmy's in the well again, Lassie?" but same idea.  Eventually he spins in a circle when I say the word he is trying to convey and I react accordingly. What if we did this with our spouse? "Hungry, honey? Have I not loved on you enough today? Come sit by me and let me stroke your back." Not scientific data to back it up but I bet there would be a lot less arguments and relationships would improve considerably with some pet talk.

The other part of this truth. What if our pets were too busy to snuggle with us? Snapped at us when we were trying to share the events of our day with them? Tied us up and left us outside with no human contact for hours, days?  What if we cried and they smacked us or growled at us? Luckily for us our animal family members are better custodians than we humans are. They are very forgiving and far more trusting than humans, more pure hearts. We could learn a lot from animals.

Like, are you gonna swat those flirty advances away or see them as your lover asking for attention? Ignore those heavy sighs or put down your Twitter feed and ask about their day? You can probably skip the Frisbee in the park, but Pet Talk might be my first million.....