Write About Pets

 

Dogs and Cats

Dogs and cats, or pets in general, seem to be a very popular topic for writers. Nonwriters who are pet lovers also pen their stories and feelings about a pet. These stories are sometimes included in Family Stories collections. After all, pets are part of the family, aren't they? 

Chicken Soup for the Soul has several books with the theme of either cats or dogs. The stories about these animals are so popular that the anthology editors put out calls for stories every now and then. They have a call for stories about cats or dogs with the deadline of December 15, 2023. That gives you a great deal of time to write and submit your story. One book is on cats, another on dogs. Go to the website, (www.chickensoup.com) and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Click on Submit Your Stories. That will bring you to the page of Possible Book Topics where you can find all the necessary information for the kinds of stories they are looking for and guidelines for same. Don't hesitate to send stories now, even with the far-away deadline date. 

Use a search engine like google and use keywords like 'places to submit pet stories,' and you'll find a good number. Be sure to read the guidelines to see if your story will fit a particular publication. 

You needn't keep to true stories. Fiction is also a place to feature dogs, cats, and other pets. I've used dogs in a few of my stories for middle grade children. In one, the dog was the one who saved the day when danger lurked for a young boy. In another, a dog gave a young boy courage to conquer his fear of crossing bridges. 

Non-fiction articles about pets are also sought by magazines, both adult and kids' publications. Just be sure your facts are true. Non-fiction articles can be presented in an interesting way, not merely a list of facts. 

Personal essays that include your pets are also possibilities for publication. Again, use a search engine to discover what publications use this kind of essay. 

Writing about your own pets gives you ample space to let others know how you feel about your pet and also allows you to use your descriptive powers. 

"Top Dog" is a story I wrote about my daughter and her husband having to get her cat and his two dogs to live together peacefully. It was published in Not Your Mother's Book on Cats several years ago. 

 

Top Dog 

My daughter, Karen, and her fiancé spent lots of time making wedding plans and deciding how to blend their two homes into one. Furniture and cooking pans were the least of their concerns. More important, they needed to figure out how to get three pets to live harmoniously in one house.

Ming, a male cat, and Karen shared a townhouse, and the big white cat liked life just as it was. When Steve became a regular visitor, Ming accepted this other man in his mistress’s life a little at a time, but he kept a wary on Steve, nevertheless.

There was still one more critical step to their nuptial bliss--the pet introductions. Karen described the meeting to me in a lengthy phone conversation. She said that Steve arrived at the townhouse with his two brindle boxers in tow. I listened to her tale, fearing what the end of the story might be. 

Max and Riley were big and muscular and a bit fierce looking, even though they were usually pretty calm canines. Sides heaving, the dogs confronted Ming while the humans held their breath. Barking and snarling, Max and Riley advanced. Steve shouted to no avail. Karen kept her eye on Ming while Steve tended to the dogs.

Ming fled to the kitchen and leaped onto the countertop, dogs and Karen racing behind. The cat paced, eyeing those two devil dogs who’d followed him. The attack cat was ready to rumble. In no time at all, he flew at them, claws out and a fierce expression on his usually tranquil face. Ming’s screeches and the dogs’ barking filled the small kitchen. Add in Steve and Karen’s voices trying to calm their individual pets, and chaos reigned. When Max and Riley charged, Ming retreated to a place on the counter where he knew the dogs could not reach him but could still see him. Back arched and hissing, he waited just out of the intruders’ reach. The night of terror didn’t last long. Steve gathered his two big dogs and headed home leaving a worried Karen and a still angry cat alone.

Karen had a talk with Ming after Steve and the dogs left, and no doubt, Steve reasoned with Max and Riley on the ride home. The five of them were going to live together and they would have to learn to get along. This engaged couple didn’t know it then, but they were in training for being parents. Handling kids would be a piece of cake if they managed to get the three pets to live peacefully together.

Weeks later, I spent a weekend with the newlyweds and their menagerie. I’d always been more partial to dogs, but Ming had worked his way into my heart long before. He often curled up next to me when I visited. That afternoon, Max and Riley stationed themselves in front of the sofa, one on either side of my legs, chins on the cushions, slobber included. Ming Kitty snuggled closer to me, not making a sound, but if looks could kill, we’d have been digging two big holes in the back yard for those sweet dogs.

That evening, the dogs were standing in the kitchen hoping for a scrap or two from dinner when I noticed Ming saunter by them. Without missing a beat, he whacked one of the dogs on the snout with his paw, then he kept right on walking. Max and Riley both looked a bit bewildered but left the cat alone. Ming had established his spot on the family tree. And it was several branches higher than the dogs. It may have been the first time a large white cat claimed the title of Top Dog.

Another year passed and the first baby joined the family. Jordan was born in the afternoon, and after I’d had my turn doing all the silly things a new grandmother is wont to do when meeting a grandchild. I left the new parents at the hospital and went to their house to feed the animals and spend the night with them, as we’d prearranged weeks earlier. These three pets had learned to tolerate one another, even though Ming Kitty  occasionally used the swat-on-the-nose method to keep the dogs in line. I wondered how they were going to accept this new family pet that would be coming home the next day. 

I shouldn’t have worried as they all loved Jordan, and as she grew, she fit right in with the three of them. Once she started to crawl, she chased Ming daily with her eye on his long white tail. Luckily, he was faster than she but I think he enjoyed the game as much as she did. Max and Riley lay on the floor watching, tongues hanging out. I knew they were cheering her on from the sidelines. If they could speak, they’d have been hollering, “Go Jordan, Get that tail!” 

They lived in harmony, Ming reminding Max and Riley that he ruled with the occasional nose swipe. It wasn’t a hard whack, more like he just wanted to bring up the fact that they were guests in his house and they’d better not start any trouble. He’d never admit that he’d come to like those two guys. 

Max was the first of the trio to pass on. But Riley still had Ming, and the cat seemed to sense his canine brother’s grief. They kept one another company and became good buddies. When Karen and Steve were at work, and Jordan at daycare, those two probably had a few good laughs together about the time they’d first met. That night of terror resulted in a long friendship even though Ming Kitty still wore the crown. Yep, he’d always be Top Dog of the feline world.

 

(c)