MECHELE R. DILLARD

WRITER

MOVING BEYOND THE BOX
with Mechele R. Dillard
February 07, 2008

Ah, Cleveland.

You know, when I moved to Cleveland, my biggest fear was not the move to completely unfamiliar surroundings. It wasn’t that, at 37, I was going to be living with a man for the first time in my life. It wasn’t even the fact that I had only known Mark for a couple of months when we decided we wanted to live together. No, all of those were biggies, to be sure, but there was one thing about this new life I was undertaking that trumped all of those, and everything else that was being thrown my way.

Mark is a dog person.

Yes, after years of living exclusively with cats (does that sound crazy?), I am making my life with someone who, until my arrival, lived exclusively with dogs.

Bubba and Bucky, to be exact.

People, it is not easy for a cat person to make a life with a dog person. Dogs are slobbery. Needy. Loud. Clunky. Demanding. Cats are neat. Self-sufficient. Quiet. Stealth. They can love you and not have to be all over you every second of your existence. Of course, cats are also rude, snobby, finicky and condescending, while dogs are expressive, loyal, protective and openly loving. It is hard to just flip-flop from one lifestyle to the other.

But, building a life with someone demands compromise, I suppose.

I knew when I met Mark that he was a dog person. That’s how he greeted me—letting me know that, given the chance, his dogs would gladly eat my cat.

Sidebar: No cat person thinks jokes about their kitty being devoured by some mean, nasty canine is funny.

A few weeks later, however, we spoke again, and I realized he wasn’t as horrendous a person as I had originally believed him to be. To the contrary, he was quite amusing, if a bit overreaching with his initial attempt at humor.

But, we got beyond that opening stumbling block.

Nowadays, I am living with Mark, Bubba and Bucky—my new family. Bubba is sweet, loving, and constantly nags me to play ball with him. Bucky is rather high-strung and, although he is definitely a loving dog, I wouldn’t describe him as sweet—he is the more manipulative of the two, definitely, and always on the lookout for something to steal and bury for future enjoyment. And, although having them snuggled up around him is just another night for Mark, I cannot yet say that I thrill at the feel of dog tongue smacking across my face each morning. But, I am, I admit, growing more fond of them as the days pass. Does that make me a dog person? No, I wouldn’t go that far; just a Bubba and Bucky person. I’m still a cat person at heart.

Of course, I don’t tell them that.

As for Mark … ah, yes, Mark … well, amazingly, I keep growing more and more fond of him, as well, as time goes by, dog lover or not … shrug … whoever would’ve thought it? Not this kitty chick, that’s for sure.

But, I wouldn’t change a thing, even if I could.

Well, maybe I’d train them to keep off the bed.

Bucky and Bubba, I mean ... :D

Until next time—

Mechele

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LATERS--

MECHELE

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