Bruno might be the world’s most handsome dog, but any attempt to capture his glory on camera will be met with much resistance. Owners who try to take perfect pictures like the ones shot by professional pet photographers can click away all that they want and try a dozen filters, but nine out of 10 pictures are likely to feature a large, excitable brown blur that can’t be identified.
Pet parents quickly find out what makes their pooch tick — if Fido likes a specific rubber ducky more than the rest, they quietly stock up on a stash of identical back-up toys and retrieve them for him from storage when the previous ducky wears out with rough play. A toy that keeps your dog occupied is priceless, so you probably have enough to last until the apocalypse.
From cats who climb up on your laps to mew plaintively into the phone when you’re talking, to a dog who follows you from room to room with a head tilted in total curiosity, the one thing pet parents can count on is that their furry friends are always desperate to be part of the conversation and that resistance is futile.
The secret that pet owners keep is that they want to be their pet’s best friend, and constantly think of sneaky ways to make this happen. You might feed Whiskers his preferred treat every time you come home, or get him a monogrammed cushion (which he will ignore, and settle for your pillow instead) but the contest never ends in a multi-human household — jealousy is a two-way street, and everyone wants to be the cat’s favourite.
Between share-worthy posters on Facebook that talk of a dog’s lasting love, and cat memes created by fellow cat people who are delighted to be owned by their furry friends, pet parents know that the reason we’re surrounded by these heart warming images and sayings is because every cliché about them is true.
