How do your pets react to houseguests and visitors?

HUMANS JUST DON'T GET IT

We had a visitor stay with us over the holidays. It was funny how our cocker spaniel Leaf, our cockatiel Sunshine, and our cat Cuddles reacted to everything being different in the house.

Our visitor was amiable, relaxed, and friendly toward our pets. It was a nice visit and we did everything we could to give him privacy and quiet, even as he slept late. Because, after all, he was on vacation.

Leaf barked at regular intervals and when he heard the slightest sound of movement from our guest. Not because he forgot we had a visitor, but mostly to tell us there was someone he didn't know in the house.

This was an unusual type of bark that was not threatening or being upset, It was more about conveying important information. Sometimes our dog would look at us as if to say, "Don't you see there is someone other than us here? I tell you over and over again, but he is still here, and you're not doing anything about it!"

For eight days Leaf barked with the shock of seeing our visitor in bed, at the dining room table, watching television in the living room, and moving about the house. Leaf would quiet down some after the initial strange feet passed by him or upon hearing an unfamiliar sound.

But if a few minutes passed and there was another movement from our guest, Leaf would remember he needed to remind us – SOMEONE I DON'T KNOW IS STILL HERE! He must have thought we were the most unobservant people in the world.

How do your pets react to houseguests and visitors?

Allen and Linda Anderson
Angel Animals Network – Where Pets Are Family
www.angelanimals.net