About my pets







Dash


 

Today,  I thought I would write about a few of my pets.  Our behaviour is based on our genetics, our previous learned experiences, and the situation we find ourselves in.   Many people comment on how gentle I am with their animals, or they are surprised at the way I handle them. 

On the left is a photo of our cat Dash.  We have three cats.  Dash, well, she dashes everywhere... well she did as a kitten.  She now, as you can see, sleeps, nice and comfy. You wouldn't think of her as stressed, would you, but she does get stressed easily.  She shows she is stressed through weeing on my books or papers.

So let's go back to my genetics.  My parents came from Poland. My father was very electronically minded, and was a good lateral thinker, and problem solver.  He was the guy you would take your piece of equipment that broke down.  You know the type of guy. He was so good, that he could walk into the room, and the piece of equipment would start behaving itself.  Amazing.  My mother was very outgoing, and kind to everyone (to a point). My grandparents - they were landowner - farmers.

That was my genetics.  I think laterally, and solve problems. I am not outgoing, but I am kind to everyone (to a point). And I wished I lived in the country. 


Pusski

So, now back the second part of one's behaviour.  The "learnt" experiences.  Over time, we learn, through interaction with our environment, and others, on what is acceptable and not acceptable behaviours.  A feedback system, if you like.  So if you do well, you get good feedback, and then you continue to behave like that. 

My learnt experiences in my childhood, was predominantly with animals.  I felt I connected better with them than I did people.  The kids in the playground played a kind of politics that I could never grasp.  I could never conform, I was different.   I still don't understand why people do it, but these days it is called bullying and cliques.

Pusski used to be my father's cat.  He came into the vet clinic as a lost kitty cat, and, as we were travelling overseas, I left him with my Dad, and, when we came back, left him there.  We now inherited him. He is quite a funny cat, in that he can be bossy, kind, cuddly, and aggressive.

The one thing that I respect about animals, is that they don't bullshit in the way they feel.  They don't pretend to like you, and then stab you in the back.  They may not like you, and they may show tolerance to you. They may absolutely hate you and tell you, through scratching or biting or growling.  Animals are overall, good judges of character, but not all of them are perfect either.

Now back to the situations I find myself in.  I suppose becoming a vet was fitting into my comfort zone.  I preferred to work with animals because I understood how they thought, felt and acted.  The bizarre thing in all of this is, these animals come with owners attached.  I learnt that on day 1 of being a vet.  So I now have to go back to learn all about people; all of those steps I avoided during my school years.

And this is where I come to Teddy. Teddy was our dog who passed away in November 2011, from Lymphoma.   I learnt alot from him... such as have something you love (for him it was his ball), remain focused on it (he would climb ladders to get it), and always have a smile on your face. (he always did).   He is the face of alot of what I do, as he was always a happy boy. Certainly, something that I aspire to. 

It is hard to realise that perhaps I should've taken other career paths, and not become a vet.  That being a vet was more about people than animals.  And that I would've done more good for the animal kingdom, becoming financially rich, and then sharing that wealth, than I could as a poor vet.

But, then I look at my pets.  And I know that I am in the right job.  I would never have met them if I was doing something else. I am wealthy in the best definition of that word.