Birthday of Alan Rotoi

[alanrotoi]

Today is 33th birthday of my dog Alan Rotoi 

[Cas]

My blessings to him!  I suppose by now you no longer have it. It's nice that you remember your dog's birthday after all this time   I always remember the birthdays of both a cat and a dog I had. They were very special among the pets I've had.

[alanrotoi]

They are the best. What're their names?

[Cas]

Dimi (1989-03-12) was my cat. A female. The name was supposed to sound unisex, so my dad didn't know it was a she, so I gave it that name. It was a modification of the word "Dama" (which means "Lady", for non Spanish speakers). She lived for some 15 years approximately. She wasn't really born exactly that day. A few months after she was born, I asked my mother when it was and she only remembered it was in March, so I picked a random day in the month so that she would have a birthday and from then on, we celebrated it every year and gave her a special meal

Schiffa (2008-04-29) was my dog. Also a female. My grandmother was suffering Alzheimer at that time and she had a caregiver. It was she that named the dog, after a dog she had seen on TV called "Schiffo". She didn't actually provide a spelling, but it's clear to me that it must be a German name or similar, so I choose to spell it that way. Again, we only remember the month when she was born and I did the same thing. I chose the 29th, because it's also Animals' Day. We celebrated it every year too. Schiffa didn't live very long. My grandmother passed away in late 2008 and in early 2012 the house was rented and we had to find a new owner for Schiffa, as nobody in the family could have her. This good man adopted her, but he says she only lived about a year afterwards. I want to believe he treated her well, because he seemed good and loved animals.

[KyLiE]

Now the avatar makes sense!  That dog sure knows his way around a Countach!

[alanrotoi]

Dimi (1989-03-12) was my cat. A female. The name was supposed to sound unisex, so my dad didn't know it was a she, so I gave it that name. It was a modification of the word "Dama" (which means "Lady", for non Spanish speakers). She lived for some 15 years approximately. She wasn't really born exactly that day. A few months after she was born, I asked my mother when it was and she only remembered it was in March, so I picked a random day in the month so that she would have a birthday and from then on, we celebrated it every year and gave her a special meal

Schiffa (2008-04-29) was my dog. Also a female. My grandmother was suffering Alzheimer at that time and she had a caregiver. It was she that named the dog, after a dog she had seen on TV called "Schiffo". She didn't actually provide a spelling, but it's clear to me that it must be a German name or similar, so I choose to spell it that way. Again, we only remember the month when she was born and I did the same thing. I chose the 29th, because it's also Animals' Day. We celebrated it every year too. Schiffa didn't live very long. My grandmother passed away in late 2008 and in early 2012 the house was rented and we had to find a new owner for Schiffa, as nobody in the family could have her. This good man adopted her, but he says she only lived about a year afterwards. I want to believe he treated her well, because he seemed good and loved animals.

Thank you! I love these stories. I know they have a special place in your heart. Do you have any pet now? (spanish: me cuesta llamarlos "it" en inglés o "pet". Son algo más que una cosa o una mascota. Mambos míos.  )

Now the avatar makes sense!  That dog sure knows his way around a Countach!

This is the complete picture edited in 1999. Those mountains are the Andes, specifically in Bariloche.

[Cas]

Ah, I had never seen the full picture!

And yes, in Spanish, we call animals "he" or "she" always. In English, most of the time, you say "it", but you can use "he" or "she" and it sounds more personal. It's not incorrect. I use both things in English. Usually, I prefer "he" or "she" after introduction (once the reader already knows if I'm talking about a male or female) and "it" if I'm speaking broadly.

To us, Spanish speakers, though, it does feel a little uncomfortable to use "it" for a pet or for a baby (Babies are sometimes referred to as "it" in English as well), but I know that if I suddenly come up with "he" or "she" and the English reader expects "it", they may have a feeling like "Who is he talking about?", so that's why I do it the way I described. Again, as far as I know, it's correct anyway.

[KyLiE]

This is the complete picture edited in 1999. Those mountains are the Andes, specifically in Bariloche.

Ha ha!  That's quite amusing!

I have two cats and two dogs.  The cat that I have had the longest is about 15 years old.  I got her for my 21st birthday.  I had mentioned that I'd like a black male cat and I ended up getting a white female cat!  Anyway, I officially named her "Socks" because I always wear white socks, but I usually just call her "Kitty".

She's had a lot of adventures over the years and she does things that I've never seen another cat do before.  Often she will scoop water with her paw and lick it off rather than drinking directly from the bowl.  She'll also wake up and have something to eat or start begging for food whenever I eat, but not when someone else in the house does.

I wouldn't call her a friendly cat, in fact she's been known to attack people without being provoked, but never me.  She's affectionate on her own terms instead of all the time, which I think gives her a slight human quality.  Sometimes I think the cat understands me better than some humans!

I've attached a photo of her that was taken on 26/9/2019.

[Cas]

If you had her for longer than your other pets, that explains why she has a more unique behaviour for a cat. Cats (and I think dogs too) look at their peers first as a reference in their first year or two to learn their behaviour. If they don't have any at home, then they look at humans instead. As a result, they develop skills that make them appear more intelligent and also more unpredictable. Cats that grow among other cats are a little wilder and they behave more like the average cat, although each does of course has its personality. I know this because we've had many cats and a few of them have been our only cat for some time, though most have been exposed to other pets while growing up. Females are usually more civilised than males too, unless you castrate the male at an early age. And they also go out less and live a safer life than males and even more if grown up among humans, which extends their life expectancy.

My aunt and uncle had a female cat that lived 20 years and was very healthy almost he whole life. That's the longest lived cat I've known personally. But I have heard about a male that reached 27. I don't know if he was castrated, though. I'd bet he was. I'm not sure about dogs, but I understand it varies a lot with breed, with dogs that don't belong to any fancy breed being the ones that live the longest and are healthiest.

[alanrotoi]

I have a siamese cat now. Her name's Maite Zaitut and she's 16.  She's old and healthy too.

[alanrotoi]

No more pipsqueaks with pets??