If you find gushing pet lovers offensive, best to turn away now. Stop reading, and do something else, to avoid the risk of your feathers being ruffled. We are a family of animal lovers. Mostly the canine variety, but we also have accepted into our enclave some pets of the feline persuasion.

We are indeed a pathetic bunch. When we’re away from home and our animals, we smile and pat the heads of pet-strangers on the street. Some people do that with babies. We mostly fawn over four-legged babies. While living in the countryside, one of the biggest adjustments that we had to make was to accept animals as animals. Normally, we think of them as smaller people with strange fur coats. Finally, we have come to acknowledge that a cinghiale, wild boar is NOT a domestic pet. Not by a long shot. Serpenti, are snakes—not caterpillars without fur. Volpi are foxes. Lupi are wolves. These are mostly predatory animals. So yes, we’ve adjusted our thinking about THOSE animals—but not the ones we’ve adopted into the family.

We have three dogs in the house. They are individuals, with personalities that are as unique as any human’s. Abby is the sweetheart of the group. She’s a 15-year old red long-haired dachshund. She had been something of a beauty queen from the beginning. Her ears look like hair that seems to have just been coiffed. Her body is particularly long, so she looks like a hook and ladder truck as she descends the stairway. Her nose is also a bit long, which gives her the added ability to subtly snore, almost all the time. She loves sunny patches, squinting up at us as we pass by.

Izzi-B is the second doxy and what a cutie! We call her the town crier, because she yodels that dinner is being served. The others already know, but she still lets out a very specific exclamation just before she’s fed. She’s a black and tan, which probably adds to her cuteness. We’ve deemed her nose to be “substantial” since it is a bit thicker than most doxy noses. She’s also the long-haired variety, but her fur is particularly thick. In fact, it seems to be almost waterproof—which makes bathing interesting. At 14, she’s showing signs of aging, but at a glance, she seems a perpetual puppy.

Tuesday is the “kid” of the group, edging up on 12 years at her next birthday. She’s a beautiful chocolate lab/springer mix. I’m not making this up: she will engage in staring contests with us. I’ve never known a dog who makes eye-contact for the length of time that she does. And her gaze is always a “knowing” look. She looks at us as though she understands us—not just the words, but who we are, who we really are. Lately, she’s become more expressive, sighing and moaning. True to her heritage, the Tues loves water and won’t hesitate to jump right in!

Our fourth furry family member is Q. She’s a very sweet Maine coon cat, who has way too much fur to be living in San Diego. But she does. Other than her obvious choice to live in southern California, she is exceptionally bright. She’s affectionate, yet holds a bit of a grudge if ignored a little too long. But I do understand that the “grudge thing” is a typical feline trait. Dogs, on the other hand, generally, do NOT have that gene (well, most of the time). On the contrary, it’s true that dogs are generally more forgiving. In fact, we can learn a lot from their willingness to overlook shortcomings or unintentional slights.

Okay, so lots of people love their pets. Yes that’s true. But let me tell you that there’s something simply wonderful about snuggling with a doggie when the air is chilled. I don’t know what the average dog temperature is, but I think it’s slightly higher than a human’s. Last night, there was definitely a brisk nip in the air. Thankfully, we had the girls right there with us—truly a 3-Dog Night.