According to a recent article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, “Frank, a cat, lay sick as a dog” and “in critical need of care”at a local boarding kennel a few years ago, while the cat’s owners were out of the country. They could not be reached, so the kennel’s owner rushed Frank to a 24-hour facility “which is like the Mayo Clinic for animals” instead of his regular veterinarian.
The “Mayo Clinic” saved Frank (so-named after Ol’ Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra), but when his owners returned home and went to pick him up, the bill was $2,600+ more than their regular vet would’ve charged. Long story short, owners hired attorney, sued kennel owner. Case finally comes to a hearing January 2015. Verdict: kennel had acted reasonably. Frank’s owners not only lost the case, they lost Frank, who had died in the meantime. They now have a dog.
What am I make to of all this? Another post about old sayings and proverbs, of course….but limited to cats and dogs — though human readers are welcome to tag along too. This being a pet-friendly site, there will be some doggone purrfect quotes but no trick sayings thrown in (as was the case in my Jan. 23 post GEORGE (STILL) ON MY MIND). Today, cats and dogs reign!
The dog may be wonderful prose, but only the cat is poetry. –French proverb
Cats are smarter than dogs. You can’t get eight cats to pull a sled through snow. —Jeff Valdez
Cats were put into the world to disprove the dogma that all things were created to serve man. –Paul Gray
No mater how much the cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens. —Abraham Lincoln (who apparently didn’t feel free to say the same of humans)
The cat loves fish, but is loath to wet her feet. –English proverb
The man who carries a cat by the tail learns something that can be learned in no other way. —Mark Twain
You own a dog but you feed a cat. –Jenny de Vries
A cat is the only domestic animal I know who toilet trains itself and does a damned impressive job of it. –Joseph Epstein
In order to keep a true perspective of one’s importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him. –Dereke Bruce
The cat is domestic only as far as suits its ends. –Saki
Speaking of ends….
No one who sends me an unexpected $2600 bill can expect me to act reasonably.
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I have to agree there. My unexpected-bill-reasonableness tops out pretty well below $2600. I say this after an unexpected-bill for about $600 in car repairs a few months ago that I’m still twitching over. (We saved the car.)
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I don’t know who’s picture is on a $2600 bill (maybe Frank Sinatra’s?), but I’d investigate — it might be counterfeit.
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I thought the quotes were funny and cute. Especially since I have such ‘fond’ memories of all the cats and dogs my daughter brought home. Not to mention the gerbils, a hamster, a guinea pig, and a blue parakeet cleverly named “Birdie.” The reason I remember Birdie is when he finally dropped dead in its cage (literally,) my daughter was so inconsolable. So I proceeded to pretend to give the bird CPR. I guess she thought I could bring the poor thing back to life. Sigh!
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Well, there are men named Manny, so it seems perfectly logical to call a bird Birdy….or, for that matter, call a gerbil Gertie or Billy, a hamster Hammy, and a guinea pig Piggy. I don’t know about a fish, however – that might sound Fishy.
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I would say this is purrfect.
Muse, Sinatra is on the $2,000 dollar bill.
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Thanks, Don. I should point out, just for the record, that the “Mayo Clinic for animals” bill was $3,800. $2,600 was the amount over and above the $1,200 Frank’s regular vet testified he would’ve charged for the same procedure. But the Sinatra angle is pertinent because the cat had blue eyes, which is why his owners named him Frank, and since there was no $2,600 bill for Sinatra to be on, I’m glad to know he’s on the $2,000 bill.
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I thought your renaming of the exotic pets was special, Muse. I know you are more into jazz and the good songs of the 20’s and 30’s. This is not a fish tail but a true story linked to a “famous musical icon” of the past century.
We had five goldfish we inherited from illegal aliens who were evicted. Eventually they shared the aquarium with the turtle and some tropical fish. My daughter took the aquarium to her house after we got tired of cleaning it.
Later she discovered one of the goldfish had turned completely white but his brothers remained the same color. Thereafter, they were known as the Jackson Five. The white fish was tagged as Michael Jackson. When that fish (not named Wanda) died years later, we did not bury him in a sacred cat fur blanket. Michael would’ve hated that.
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Good story. For those not familiar with it, “A Fish Called Wanda” was a very funny early ’80s movie starring a Cleese called John, a Curtis called Jamie Lee, and a Kline called Kevin. As for a Jackson named Michael, the best I can say is, to each his own.
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Thank you for liking “The Blue Hour,” “Twilight,” and “Snowstorm.” I like your post, especially the quotes. My cats are demanding pets, but at least they give me a lot of affection in return. I can see in their eyes how grateful they are that I take care of them (except when I take them to the vet for shots and medical treatment). 🙂
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