Oone Crazy canine coniiection THE other day an | "acquaintance asked me what I did with the dogs on Christmas. . “What do you mean, ‘What do I do with them?°"1 ‘asked back, with a little sneer on my face. “{ man, are vou like, one | of those crazy peoplé who dress their dogs up with rein- deez antlers then take pic- tures of your dog with their Christmas presents?” 2 “Crazy people?” J “growled back. I was offended; not because she was mocking the -way [ celebrated Christmas . with my dugs, but because she thought people like me were crazy for doing so. _ + Yeould see this conversa- 2. tion was beginning to sour, and was close to jumping on her back and pinning ber to the ground as a show of dominance, But then I thought, is she right? Arc people like me crazy? Do we use our dogs as substitute chikdren? Lec’s face it, there are peuple, like myself, that cele- brate their dog's birthday; they may have doggy sleep- overs; they may go to dogyy day care once ina while and we share Christmas with them. But we know that they are a different species than us, we just choose to love them like they are children. Some of us have children, and others, tike myself, don’t. [won't pretend that there isn’t any maternal instince presence when | care for thei. When Harley cuts a foot, ! coddle him and make him feel better the only way | know how. When they sleep, my heart swells as 1 watch their little faces and feer wiggle as they dream. Do I need psychiatric help? Nor likely, £ just love my dogs. They express happi- ness, sadness, anger and many more emotions that are similar to us. So why can’t 1° See Dogs page 34 Human’s name: Marissa, 13 years old. Pet's name and age: indy is a 10-month-old Airedale. Favourite. activities: . indy’s favourite activity involves “chas- ing” and “cats.” Favourite treat: He is a great fan of savoury cooked liver. Yum. Pet tale: An enjoyable afterncon for Indy is spent swimming at the lake ;.. once he emerges from the water he feels so zefreshed he'll “run around like a crazy dog.” He's also known to chase the birds away from his food bovd when he's trying to enjoy his meals at the family cottage. u, if you would like to appear with your pet in Pet Pause, please write to Terry Peiers c/o the North Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale Ave. North Vancouver, 8.C., V7M 2H4. Or send e-mail io . Levelt Auto body is a, We repair. all makes: " a cy 7 Had insurance ee Receive 10% off Brentwood Mail Gift Certificates.: oe Available at the Customer Service Centre . ~ ee located on the upper Jevel ovtside Sears. One purchase per customer. Maximum $200 purchase. Offer valid until Dec. 24th or while:quantities last. Valid for redemption only ofter December. 28th 2000.