Saturday Night Smack Down

Welcome to another Saturday Night Smack Down at the Pattersons. Today we will be featuring a standoff of epic proportions that represents hundreds of years of animosity between cats and dogs. In one corner we have Spanky with his own brand of kitten tenacity and needle-like claws that he's spent weeks sharpening on the sofa. And in the other corner, it's Riley with her equally lethal bad breath and gas. There's the bell. Oh--the cat takes a nip to the shoulder. But watch out, here comes Spanky with a claw to the dog's nose. Oow--that one's got to hurt!

But wait, ladies and gentlemen! The pets have suddenly united against a common enemy: The Christmas tree. Oh it doesn't look good for the tree. There go the lights. Ornaments are flying everywhere. Oh no, the tree is going down...


Rance and I have always loved that saying from Babe that “Christmas means carnage.” That seems to be especially true this year as there is fur and faux pine needles flying everywhere.

We have had some major breakthroughs this weeks with the pet scenario though. It seems that in the true spirit of Christmas, the kitten offered an olive branch to the dog and they can now co-exist with relative tolerance. I don't think that they will ever be BFFs, but I will settle for the current modicum of forbearance. At least we don't have to shuffle people from room to room like we are living with high security prison inmates.

On a more philosophical note, I think there are lessons to be learned from my pets. They are wildly different and don't really agree with each other's beliefs (Dog: I think I should eat you cat. Cat: That's not a good idea, dog.) Despite their differences and deeply seated animal instincts, they have managed to work out livable boundaries and have even developed a certain level of respect between them. Too bad we higher life forms can't always get along with such panache.