Happy Tails and Inspiring Trails...

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Greetings and Happy November! I hope your week has been as productive or relaxing as you had hoped. Bonus points to you if you achieved some sort of balance!

As a way of saying thank you for allowing me into your inbox each week, I am going to start sharing a short, exclusive essay written just for you. So, here we go!

Max is Not Intellectually Gifted

As parents, we want to see the best in our kids, be they human or animal. We want to believe they are incredibly smart or talented or athletic. We encourage them and tell them they can achieve anything they set their minds to. The reality is, that's not always true. Not everyone can be valedictorian or the star quarterback and that's okay. Everyone has things that make them special and it's important to help our kids find those things in themselves and in others.

Maybe it seems odd to include human offspring and pets into the same group here, but I believe how we see and treat our animal family members impacts their behavior similar to the ways they affect humans. In our family, we see our two cats, Jasper and Max, very differently. Jasper is our cat with a capital 'C'. He fits more of the cat stereotypes - very curious, watchful, on edge a lot, and is only affectionate with me or my wife. Max is a small 'C' cat. He's super laid back, not especially curious about anything except the inside of cupboards, and will at least let my kids pet him for short periods of time.

It's fair to say Jasper is smarter than Max. He can watch my wife open a drawer and minutes later mimic her actions and open it himself. He studies how we do things, when we do them, and where we go. He knows our schedule. If he had opposable thumbs and a bit more strength, he'd be in his food cupboard, out the front door, and turning the heat up to 85 degrees on a regular basis.

Max is a sweetheart, but we've long known he isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. Although he regularly competes with Jasper for the Top Cat position, he also lets Jasper take the lead on pretty much everything. He is a classic 'copy cat.' If Jasper is laying on the box at the back door watching birds, suddenly that's where Max wants to be. If Jasper runs up the stairs, Max will follow. If Jasper figures out that the hammock on the cat tree is the perfect place for a nap, Max will get to it first later in the day and take it over for the next week. I guess I am saying Max lacks imagination.

Over the last few nights, I've realized that Max might even be a tad intellectually slower than we thought. For most of his life, Max has gone through periods that he seems to get lost from the rest of the family and cries out to be found. Usually we're all upstairs and he's wandering around downstairs, so we call to him and he finds us. Lately though, it's gotten worse.

Usually while my wife and I get ready for bed, one or both cats are with us, begging to be brushed, or just waiting to settle into bed while we read. This week, Max has been very visible while I perform my nightly routine, making sure I make time to brush him. He's seen me, my wife and even Jasper upstairs. Within ten minutes he is downstairs crying.

"Max," I call. "Max-Max we're up here." He's got a short name so we've gotten into the habit of doubling it up.

"Meow," he replies.

"Come on, Buddy. Up here." He doesn't come and minutes later is crying again. We repeat the process multiple times. Eventually he trots into our bedroom and upon seeing me in the bed, races the rest of the way, looking surprised and relieved to finally have found me. He hops on the bed and snuggles next to me, content to have found his human. Mind you, he's the one that left my side twenty minutes ago. I'm in roughly the same place I was when he left to go get food or use the litter box or whatever mysterious cat things he does once we go to bed.

"Poor Max," my wife says, "Poor, slow Max."

I rub his belly with one hand while holding my Kindle in the other. His purr is loud and steady.

"I know, but he's a love bug."

Is there really anything more important than that?

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This Week

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​Big Dogs Vs. Small Dogs​

I love all dogs, but have to admit a bias towards big dogs. Sometimes little dogs are just too yappy and fragile. I will admit that both sizes have their advantages and disadvantages, which I share in this essay. Who is the winner in your eyes?

​Secrets of Cat People​

Dog people tend to be baffled by what cat people see in cats. Many of their ideas about cats are misconceptions. In this essay, I let dog people in on a few secrets...

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Behind the Scenes

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I finally finished the desk I've been working on for the past couple of months. This marks the completion of the room remodel that included building a new headboard, refinishing an Ikea dresser, ordering and installing a new valance and, of course, refinishing this desk. I had hoped to share pictures of the whole room, but it has been so dark and rainy, there just wasn't enough light. Hopefully, another time.

As for advice, if you have an interest in remodeling or building something simple, just get on YouTube and watch lots of "how-to" videos, and then go for it. I've never done projects like this, but got inspired and just dug in. I love how everything turned out!

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Favorite Fun Stuff

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I think most people are not big fans of switching back and forth between Daylight Savings Time and Standard Time. Sure, it's fun this time of year, but sucks big time in the spring. I've never considered actually telling my animals why their entire schedule is being thrown off. At least, not beyond grumbling under my breath about the stupidity of changing times twice a year. Here, Animal Communicator, Val Heart, addresses how we can speak with our pets about this stupid human trick. (My description, not her's.)

The slightly warped people at Cracked posted an eye-opening list of "12 Surprising Size Comparisons That Show Us We Have No Idea How Big Anything Is."

One of the facts is that a giant squid's eyeballs are bigger than basketballs. The life-size sculpture below commemorates the 55-foot-long squid that washed up near it's location in Newfoundland in 1858.

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Confession Time

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I didn't realize until last weekend that there are people who actually enjoy all the crushed up cereal and crumbs at the bottom of a box of cereal. They gleefully pour them into a bowl, cover them with milk and enjoy what has been described by my wife as the best part of the box. I thought my wife was an exception in her love of what I would rather just put out for the birds or throw in the worm compost bin. Last Saturday I learned my brother-in-law shares this affliction. My sister and I just stood there and cringed as our partners described their love of this...uh..."delicacy." Ugh.

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Have a wonderful weekend and upcoming week. As always, feel free to share the fun! You are welcome to pass along this newsletter to a couple of friends who you think will enjoy it.

Wishing you peace,

Dakota Duncan

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I Want in on the Fun!

If you want to find about about my graphic novel or children's chapter books, visit my website: dakotaduncan.com​

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