Feisty Repartee

Animal Attraction

Hey handsome, is that a chihuahua in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?

Just my luck, the gentleman smiled, then responded: A Chihuahua.

Animals, particularly dogs, have been a part of my life since I can remember; however, while I have lived with and around a number of the beasties, there have been very few that have actually been my very own.

In addition to being lovable and loyal companions and protectors, dogs have been an integral part of my social life. In fact, I met my first-ever boyfriend while walking my dog. Further, I "became aware of" the man I married while walking that very same dog.

It would appear my experience is not unusual. The British Journal of psychology has two new studies which suggest that dogs help increase their owners' interaction with others, making them more happy overall.

In the first study, a woman walking a dog through her daily routine recorded the number and quality of interactions she had with others. The results showed that the woman interacted with significantly more people than normal when accompanied by a dog, and particularly by more strangers.

To test how the physical appearance of the dog and owner affected the number of interactions, the researchers studied a man dressed in either a suit or torn jeans while walking a dog wearing either a matching collar and leash or a studded collar and frayed rope. The dog's appearance had little effect, but the man interacted with others 790 percent more than usual when wearing jeans and 1,000 percent more when wearing a suit.

While I have not performed a formal study, as a life-time animal lover, I think I have gathered a good bit of empirical evidence regarding the interaction of animals and their humans which has led to certain rather ill-defined (and hopefully amusing) conclusions.

Here are a few tips for the ladies:

1) Guys with dogs are usually outgoing and fun, but may be a bit too casual about tidiness, particularly if their idea of watering the dog is lifting the toilet cover;

2) Guys with cats are generally more meticulous in their personal upkeep, as well as that of their surroundings. I have also found gentlemen cat owners to be quite thoughtful and sensitive;

3) Those men who walk around with six and eight foot boas and pythons wrapped around their necks and naked torsos on the boardwalk or at the beach may have size-related "issues" or exhibitionist tendencies;

4) Men who are fashionably dressed and consummed with decorating and who also keep cages of gerbils are to be avoided;

5) The guy with the monkey trained to drop olives down the front of a lady's dress and then attempt to fish them out probably has a sense of humor (go ahead, pull my finger) your parents and other friends may not appreciate; and

6) Never date a man whose pet (dog, cat, or potbelly pig) is unable to sit on its bottom comfortably. Seriously.

Now, for completely different takes on the topic du jour, visit Silk, Kathy, and Sadie, as well as our gentlemen callers: Phin, The Wizard, Naked Villainy, and Stigmata. Our guest divaesque lady this week is Ruth; however, she had a prior committment and the ever-so-sauve Tincanman has agreed to fill-in.

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