I was out for a walk with my son the other evening. Truth be told, it wasn’t just a leisurely walk; we were taking out the garbage, and in our neighborhood, “taking out the garbage” means walking it a quarter mile to the dumpster in our condo complex. In the summer, I prefer to walk the short distance rather than drive.
It was a beautiful night with a slight breeze, and even though it was just after 8:00, it was already quite dark. A couple walking their dog appeared out of the darkness like a grainy photograph in a pan of developer.
The dog was friendly and came over for a sniff and a greeting. I pet her quickly on my way by. “She always has to get her greeting,” her owner said from well within the shroud of the evening darkness.
“I have a cat like that,” I told them. “Perhaps you’ve met him. Black and white… very friendly? He’ll come right up to you and say hi,” I informed them.
“Oh, sounds like Skinny Pete!” they both said.
“Oh, you have met him! He has a bit of a reputation in the neighborhood. He’s cute and friendly, a bit of a pest, but he keeps the chipmunks at bay,” I informed them. “His name is Poto.”
“We call him Skinny Pete,” they returned. “We have a cat at home that looks just like him, but he’s fatter.” Interesting, I thought, that they would refer to my cat as skinny. “But now we know his name, at least.”
We exchanged a few more pleasantries before we ambled down the walkway to complete our dumpster run.
“The cat knows more of the neighbors than we do,” my son said, matter-of-factly.
“It’s kind of sad,” I replied. “When the cat has a more active and exciting social life than we do.”
Everyone in my building and neighborhood knows my dog and her name. It amazes my mom when she pet sits that people greet my dog
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No doubt, pets are one of the best ways to meet and talk to people we might not otherwise talk to. I take offense to the fact that my cat is clearly out meeting the neighbors and socializing without me! 😀
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Someone started talking to me on the elevator, more specifically to my dog, and I know I’ve never met this person before. I had to ask husband and daughter who he was….
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