I Wish Everyone Would Fight Like Cats and Dogs

I wish everyone would fight like cats and dogs- or at least like my cat and dog. I don’t mean hissing and scratching versus barking and biting. And I certainly don’t want the fur to fly worldwide. I just want everyone to get along the way Leo and Tyler do. Let me explain…

You see, Leo and Tyler are two of my household pets. Tyler is an eighty pound mess of a white Labrador retriever. He has been a major part of my family for four years. Like my siblings and me, my parents tried not to spoil him, but, they only partly succeeded. Tyler has an enormous heart and a gentle soul, though he has a mammoth sense of entitlement when it comes to food.

Leo came into my family more recently. Seven months ago, my sister and I brought him home as a surprise for my parents; they loved that! Leo was a little black ball of fur, with touches of white on his paws and snout. As is typical of other kittens his age, Leo has a high energy level and loves to play and scamper. Of course, this sometimes means he knocks things over in his path and tries to wrestle with our two older cats, whose play wrestling days are behind them.

Since Tyler is free-spirited as well, we were initially concerned for Leo’s safety. We assumed that because Leo could fit in a coffee mug, he would need a 24-7 bodyguard. It turned out that Leo was able to hold his own. In fact, we are somewhat convinced that he is part dog. He plays with water, eats anything in sight, and often sleeps with Tyler. Basically, Leo and Tyler get along great. They even work as a team to steal food. Leo jumps on the counter and knocks it down. Tyler’s job is to open the container. Then the two of them feast.

So how does this relate to world peace? It’s simple. Although Leo and Tyler couldn’t be more different — cat versus dog, black versus white, young versus old, small versus big — they are able to live peacefully together despite their differences. Although there are times when one may annoy the other—such as when Leo nibbles on Tyler’s ear while he is sound asleep on the couch—these moments of fighting are relatively few and far between. In the end, they fall asleep cuddled up together as best friends.

Why can’t more people get along like Tyler and Leo? All over the world, people are fighting over differences in race, religion, nationality, and ethnicity; the number of wars and conflicts is probably at an all-time high. Blacks and whites, Jews and Arabs, Sunnis and Shiites—all need to learn from Leo and Tyler. If cats and dogs can live in peace, then so should people. This I believe.