Ratón’s mother was a stray who came to our door and we took in. (Her name was Annie, as in Little Orphan Annie.) He was born in our basement and has lived with us his entire life. For the longest time he was the center of our attention, and he enjoyed it thoroughly. He was living the good life, and he knew it.
Joxer
was six months old when my dad brought him to us. The story is that he was found wandering the
streets and was taken by the pound. No
one claimed him, so the Aussie Rescue asked the sister of a lady from my
father’s work to take him in. After a while,
she couldn’t care for him anymore, and her sister posted a note at work, and
Dad rescued him.
Right away Ratón and Joxer didn’t get along. Joxer was a curious puppy, and Rat was a sassy cat who wanted to be left alone. The feud has continued. The two animals just can’t seem to get along. They’re just too different to find any common ground.
Joxer
is very friendly and loves to play. He
greets you at the door and chases after balls.
Ratty, on the other hand, stays in the windowsill, without a flinch, as
if he didn’t even notice you walked in, that is, unless he wants to go
outside. If that’s the case, he’ll whine
and complain, rubbing against your leg, luring you to the door. Joxer never asks to go out, but on the rare
occasion he does, he jumps up on you and is real bothersome.
While
I’m on the topic of going outside, or being thrown out, as the case may be,
Joxer usually knows when he’s been bad.
Sometimes you have to yell at him and pull on his collar, but the moment
you touch his collar, he immediately goes to the door. He knows what’s going on. You have to pry Rat away and just about throw
him out the door.
When
Rat goes out, he’ll stay out for hours, if not days, at a time without a
care. After a while, Joxer will get
lonely and sit patiently at the door for someone to let him in. He needs the human companionship a lot more
than Rat does.
Joxer’s
always friendly; perhaps that is why I favor him a little more. Rat tends to seclude himself and acts as if
he couldn’t care less whether I pet him or not, but Joxer always loves to play
and prefers love and attention over anything else.
Both
animals have their own personalities, different as they may be, but both our
loved and well taken care of. Each has
his own place in my heart and each is loved.