Dog vs kitten

I have written about my dog Letty on several occasions. I try not to make this column all about my pets, but it’s difficult at times when they do things that make me want to tell others.

As a reminder, Letty is a five-and-half-pound dachshund who is about as calm of a dog as you can get. Her only real fault is wanting to get right in your face when you are holding her. As a person who doesn’t like “doggy kisses,” it gets on my nerves but she usually minds when I tell her “no.”

Letty hardly barks or makes much noise — except when the doorbell rings. Then that sound becomes Public Enemy No. 1, and she makes it sound like we have a vicious attack dog behind the door. I have considered putting a “Beware of Dog” sign in the window to help with the misconception but I just haven’t pulled the trigger on that.

Letty travels with us wherever we go. The only exception is when we go a longer trip. At those times, we usually have my parents or my husband Tim’s parents take care of her while we are out of town. For Thanksgiving, she got to spend the majority of it at my parent’s house. That’s where we started the long weekend and where we ended it, so it made the most sense. Plus I think my parents really like having her. They currently don’t have any pets of their own but are always willing to watch ours or my siblings’ animals when necessary.

Beginning last Friday, Letty had her third encounter with my sister and her husband’s rescue cat, Dill. As mentioned, Letty is very calm; therefore, we’ve never had to worry about her barking or chasing cats. The only time she shows a smidgen of aggression is when my in-law’s dogs won’t leave her alone. Even then she just shows her teeth, growls and nips at them a little to make them back off. She’s never bitten them, just sends enough of a warning to the other dog to let her know it’s time to back off. That’s probably a good thing considering she’s the smallest pretty much everywhere we take her.

But I digress.

Currently, Letty still outweighs Dill by about two pounds and is bigger than the kitten. It’s actually a little unusual to see Letty be bigger than another pet. I know that will change because the kitten isn’t anywhere near full grown.

Dill is full of energy. He is finally well enough to not have to be in quarantine or on all kinds of medication. So for Thanksgiving, he was given the freedom to run around my parent’s house and he loved every minute of it.

Dill and Letty pretty much stayed clear of each other, except on a few occasions. Letty likes to stay in one spot once she’s settled. So when her movement did catch the eye of the cat, Dill was intrigued by the long hair on her ears and wanted to play with it.

Letty did so well with him. She let him pounce on her head to bite and swat at her ears without retaliation. It must not have hurt her much because she never yelped or nipped at the little guy. She just held still and patiently waited for him to let her go or for one of the humans to separate the pair.

As soon as she was free, she would quickly scamper away to my lap, Tim’s or whoever was closest and give us this look as if to say, “keep that cat away from me.” I can’t decide if she’s just a big coward when it comes to cats or if she truly understands he meant no harm. I am hoping it’s the latter conclusion, otherwise I’d have to admit our dog is afraid of cats.

Letty is quite the dog and provides both entertainment and frustration to Tim and I as we still never quite know what she’s going to do next. Maybe the next time she sees Dill, she’ll stand her ground or even play back. I wouldn’t bet on it, though.

Contact Pam Pratt at pampratt@newtondailynews.com