If your pet was a person. . .

Margo, I couldn't in Swedish either :-) I am German :-)))

BigDice is Swedish - we are an intercultural couple :-) And our cats are German and have Swedish names. So how's that for intercultural?

Hi urs --

I think the term you're looking for is "tranquilizer dart"???

Some vets tranquilize an animal at the slightest sign of the animal's aggression. I can totally understand why. I wouldn't want to be bitten on a regular basis! Also, a vet cannot do surgery if he/she has an open scratch or wound.

Jack (my Border Collie) is a sweetheart and is extremely well trained. However, he Does Not like to be examined if he's hurt. We carry a muzzle with us at all times, just in case Jack becomes injured.

I watched my 80-pound Belgian Sheepdog snap a leather muzzle in half when approached by the vet. I had to take him home to calm him down, then we gave him oral tranquilizers before bringing him back. Quite a feat, really.

Ever tried making a 1500 pound horse do what you want??? They stomp, they bite, they run away, the threaten to kick. Luckily, mine isn't aggressive, but we've had to put a chain over her nose before in order to begin an examination. Scary. Tranquilizers are our friends!

OhMyGosh.... we had a horse that tried to kill the vet.

Drugs.... they make you stooopid.....

poor horsie

Bigdice and ehbeth, No offense, but I think I'll pass on the Klopse.

Piffka, I like capers with smoked salmon, and chopped onions. Don't like anchovies with anything. And trying to get a horse to do what she doesn't want to do makes me nervous. They're big.

URS, So if the cat was a person, she'd be a witch? Maybe she's a witch's familiar.

cjhsa, Holy moley! Snapped the muzzle? I'm impressed.

When Mikey (the cat) goes to the vet, he must be muzzled, blind-folded, and wrapped in a blanket. Even then it's not a pretty picture.

Piffka, I almost lost my hand trying to hold our Morgan stallion back from a mare as she came around the barn and was presented to him to breed. My bad tho, I had the chain wrapped around my hand. Like trying to stop a tank, big animals.
Thank god he's gone.

Never ever wrap a chain or a rope around your hand, Mikey, surely you were taught that! Gads, a guy could get kilt.

Pearl-essence isn't mean, but her head and neck weigh as much as I, so it's pretty durn easy for her to pick me up and drag me about. However, the trusty chain, carefully placed so as not to inflict injury, just "attention," is a wonderfully precise tool.

Most of the time she follows me around like a doleful puppy and is normally quite good on the lead. I'm talkin' 'bout when the vet wants to do something. 'Course this changes, on the day and the emotive feelings of the horse at the time. One day, all is fine, another, as far as she's concerned NOTHING is going to happen.

Mikey, I assume you know this to be true as well. Pearl, BTW, is half old-style Morgan, half Belgian, otherwise known as a Farm Chunk or a Highland Bay. Do you still have Morgans?

Anchovies. I like them. Especially the marinated ones, not in tins...

But, to come back to topic here, what would an anchovy be if it were human?
Well, an old salt...

cjhsa, am still thinking about the cockatiel who would be halfhuman, and wanted attention...

I remember being at the opening of our local library in Venice, CA in the early nineties. I had three friends making speeches, one the librarian, who I sat at the cafeteria table with in high school; one a tv newscaster, who was a friend via her sister; and our assemblywoman, because we had marched together, well, never mind. But I knew these bigwigs of the event, and just as the anchor friend started to pronounce what a great day for Venice this was, and the library, and so on, this loud noise started...yes, in the nearby trees, a cockatiel. She paced herself, being a bird lover, so that he/she could get a word in edgewise...very cool.

My Paddy (9 mos. young) would be Jack Nicholson, tough exterior but soooooooooo insecure, yah gotta love 'im!

Nermal would be a sixteen year old, borderline delinquent, cruising the sidewalk on a skateboard - hat on backwards and a studiously vacant expression on his phiz.

Awwwwwwwwwwwww Roger, that's precious!

Why is he called Nermal? Just curious:)

Nermal is Garfield's nephew in the Garfield comic strip. It is remarkably appropriate. Remember, Nermal is not quite normal.

Awwwwwwwwwwww Roger, how cute:)

Misti, Jack Nicholson is insecure? And Paddy is a nine-month-old dog? Cat? Dog, I'm guessing.

Roger, Nermal is a skateboarder with a vacant stare. The hat on backwards is a nice touch. Go Nermal.

Roberta, soooooooooo sorry, Paddy is a kitten! Jack Nicholson just leaves me with the impression he's not as tough as he pretends/acts .... of course, I could be way off base:)

Misti, So Paddy is a kitten! And a bit of Jack Nicholson.

Jack may not be as tough as he pretends. But insecure? Who am I to argue? I don't know the guy. Although I did see him coming out of an art gallery on Madison Avenue. He looked just like himself.

Ahhhhhhhhh Roberta, wish I'd been there on Madison Ave.

Tell me, is he short, tall, good-looking? I want to hear it all:)

Misti, He struck me as quite handsome. Tan, in a dark blue blazer, blue shirt, and light-colored slacks. He was trying to say good-bye, but the gallery owner had followed him out into the street.

Oh, height. I'd say he's about average height, maybe 5'9" or so.

I tell ya. Wandering around the Big Apple, you never know who you'll bump into.

If my pet were a person, he'd ask why it's so wet in his room. And why his best friend is a glass frog.

But he'd still be too lazy to pick himself up off the marbles.