It is a classic cartoon: A pleasant man walks his dog on a leash. Above the pup’s head is a bubble with the thought: “It’s always ‘Good dog.’ It’s never ‘Great dog.'”
This week, we intend to address the angst of this canine-and other four-legged companions among us-by featuring GREAT dogs and their compatriots in the animal kingdom; but we also branch out to include pets with, well, no legs at all.
We hope this week’s stories illuminate not just pet heroics but also the bond between people and their animal companions.
We’re pretty much dog people here at the Magazine, but a few fancy cats and others are in the horsey set. Our readers, though, have introduced us to a dazzling array of wonderful companions, with Associate Editor Desiree Chen overseeing the menagerie.
“I wanted to do an issue about pets after reading some great stuff in the news-a cat that dialed 911, a parrot that ratted out a cheating girlfriend by squawking the lover’s name (‘Gary!’), cancer-detecting dogs-I wondered if our readers had similar stories.”
It is reassuring to know that those in the animal kingdom have been drafted to fight in the war on terror. John Keilman caught up with some of them in his story, “The Odd Squad.” It was unfamiliar territory for him. “I have two cats, and somehow it was no surprise to discover that while pigs, rats and even wasps are being used to safeguard human beings,” John says, “the only thing cats are protecting are their food bowls.”
We didn’t fight like cats and dogs on this issue-but we came close.
“This is probably a terrible thing to admit, but I tend to judge people as potential friends by whether or not they like dogs,” says Jessica Reaves.
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etaylor@tribune.com
