Steve Cameron blog: Saturday, April 11, 2020: I Wonder How ...
Still here.
Today I’m really puzzled.
If you know me, or you’ve read almost anything I’ve written for The Press these past few years, you’re aware that I have a fairly famous roommate.
Yep, Sammie the World’s Greatest Cat (SWGC).
That’s her in the picture at the top of the blog, looking uncommonly fierce. That’s a rare expression, but there were lights being moved around to shoot the photo and a general bit of fuss, so…
Sammie was tiring of the whole ordeal, and perhaps wanted to make her feelings clear.
Anyhow, here’s the weird situation I discovered after a short, but delicious afternoon nap (me, not Sammie).
I know for sure that SWGC knows how to turn my iPhone on and off. She sussed out that skill almost immediately and, occasionally, if I get into a long conversation when she wants attention, I’ll spot a paw reaching for the magic red button.
What I’m wondering now is whether she’s mastered my laptop, as well.
Oh, she wanders across the keyboard once in a while – for instance, if I’m watching a video that runs a little long, interrupting her “evening treat time.”
But now ...
I’m pretty sure I turned off the computer before I closed my eyes for a little rest.
When I got back up, made some coffee and finally prepared to work, the laptop was up and running.
A CNN interview was on the screen, but it been paused.
I was beginning to doubt my own memory — I mean, I HAD been a little sleepy — so I clicked absent-mindedly on “Play” to see what the pleasant-looking woman on the screen was talking about.
“Our animals are a great help in times of stress and anxiety, especially with the extreme stress as we’re experiencing right now,” said the lady, who turned out to be Dr. Megan Mueller of the Tufts Institute for Human-Animal Interaction.
“A pet can be a great help, particularly for people who live alone.”
Hmm ...
“SAMMIE!!!”
I needn’t have shouted.
She was perched behind my left shoulder, purring, apparently oblivious to what I was hearing from CNN.
Of course, cats can burn down an entire office building and manage to look innocent, so I wasn’t fooled.
Not after all this time.
And SURELY not after checking the story that had been playing just before the interview with Dr. Mueller. It was about a study proving that humans cannot contract the coronavirus from domestic pets.
Moreover, the study said, dogs and cats can sense our health status, and often will react to help us spot our own symptoms.
Okay, now ...
Even SWGC couldn’t fiddle with a laptop to cue up those two stories.
Right?
Besides, I already knew that pets were safe from COVID-19, and Sammie is well aware of it.
I mean, she had no reason to ...
Even if she managed to find the right buttons and ...
You know, this whole affair with the laptop and those potentially wandering paws has got me thinking.
Why didn’t Sammie just write the whole blog and give me a day off?
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The Kootenai Humane Society (Sammie’s former home) is closed during the virus lockdown, but animals can be surrendered in emergency situations, and adoptions can be done from the shelter’s website.
You can call for information, or to visit a potential pal you see on the website, at (208) 772-4019.
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