Smart Animals

If you think that being romantic is a trait that only humans possess, these animals may teach you a thing or two

The German Shepherd Who Played Cupid

I have been adopting rescued German Shepherd dogs since 1953 when, as a three-year-old, I fell in love with Rex, who lived on the farm where my father worked.

Years later, when I was temporarily working in security, my father rescued a small female German Shepherd he found lying on the side of the road with a length of wire embedded in her neck. Her black and tan coat was matted and neglected and the ends of her canines sawn off. I named her Toska and soon discovered that this brutal treatment had made her distrustful of people as she would act aggressively to anyone who approached her.

For the first six months of our life together I was forced to walk her on the edge of the pavement to

stop her lunging at anyone who walked by. However, she responded to care and affection and became a very successful security patrol dog, working with me. But she would still bare her teeth and snarl at anyone who approached her too closely.

Eventually I went back to being a zoo keeper. Toska would spend the day in a friend’s garden in the zoo staff accommodation area. One evening while I was collecting Toska after work, I was approached by a very attractive young lady from the bird section. She told me she had been admiring Toska and wondered if she might pat her. I explained Toska’s history and temperament and regretfully refused. Obviously sensing both my attraction to this young lady and my uncertainty about making the initial approach, Toska overcame both her own fears and my timidity. She dragged me across the gap that separated us and thoroughly licked my beloved, future wife on the cheek.

Toska had never reacted this way before

and would never do so again for the remainder of the seven wonderful years I was privileged to know her. She continued to be affectionate toward my wife and the two remained lifelong friends.

Love Cats

MARGARET POLETTI

A few years ago, after a hard day at the office I arrived home to discover the back door was open. Alarmed, I entered the house to find Snowey, my white three-year-old cat, snuggled on the couch with a strange black male cat. Twenty minutes later, after kicking out the tomcat and going about my business, I heard an odd scratching sound at the back door.

On closer inspection I witnessed the “innocent” Snowey jumping up, pulling open the door handle and letting in her little boyfriend.

Three’s a Crowd?

JUDE ADLER

It was so exciting – in March 2014, after dating my girlfriend for 18 months, we were finally getting married and leaving the family home. As fate would have it, though, our new home happened to be in the same suburb and just around the corner from the house where my wife’s parents live.

As we settled into our new lives, we started hearing constant, regular meowing at our door most evenings. When we eventually looked out, we found to our shock that my wife’s family cat, Ashy, had followed us to our new home. Thirteen-year-old Ashy has been part of my wife’s family since he was a kitten and he and my wife share a special bond. He does not show much affection towards me, probably because I do not show much fondness towards him.

Still, I admire the way this cat knew where we lived or was able to find us. Although Ashy has not moved in permanently, he is a frequent visitor and loves having an alternative dinner venue. It just shows that while you can take the girl from the family, you can’t take the cat away from the girl!

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