The (Mostly) True Story of Puff

Kate Preston

Our new kitten, Puff (not original, but what else fits a fluffy white kitten so well?), and our solitary old Himalayan spay, Bella, didn’t hang out together as we had hoped they might. No conflict, but sometimes Puff would be quietly alone, singing a familiar tune to herself:

Then, one day when we weren’t watching, she accessed something on the computer that fascinated her. Quietly sneaking a peek on the screen, we discovered a chart entitled “Complementary Dog Breeds for Your Kitty,” that looked like this:

If You Like This Cat Breed	Then Consider This Dog Breed
Abyssinian	Irish Setter
American Shorthair	Labrador Retriever
British Shorthair	Jack Russell Terrier
Devon Rex	French Bulldog
Egyptian Mau	Dalmatian
Exotic	Shih Tzu
Maine Coon	Saint Bernard
Oriental Shorthair	Greyhound
Persian	Great Pyrenees
Siamese	Saluki
Siberian	Samoyed
Sphynx	African Hairless

Puff had been born into a household with a warm and motherly canine, and it looked as if she was trying to find a similar companion. Hidden, we watched her run back and forth between our door mirror and the chart, trying to discover what doggie matched herself …. Was she a Devon? Nope – ears not wide enough. Persian? – ears not small enough. Siamese? – not slim enough. Sphynx? – alas, too much fur. Exotic? – nope, nose too long. Oriental? Not that either, body too short. Mau? No spots. Abyssinian? No ticked red coat. Maine Coon? Not quite that big. Siberian? BINGO!

In the weeks that followed, we started finding pictures from our printer of beautiful dogs for sale – all Samoyed – puppies/adults/old/young … but all with the same alert, friendly look.

You know what eventually happened: We folded, and bought one.

What a meeting that was! Puff and her very own beautiful dog, Sammy, joined instantly like magnets. They eat, watch birds, play chase, and sleep together. Puff sings much happier songs these days, and to our knowledge, hasn’t been back on the computer since.