Pets and St. Patrick's Day

The top o' the morning to you! Waking up to the sound of the delightful and spirited Irish music on the radio today really got my day off to a good start, and put me in a terrific mood. But this said, as I was preparing breakfast for Hubble and Hush Puppy, our two Oriental Shorthair cats, I couldn't help but notice that their noses were highly out of joint! I just couldn't understand why they appeared so unhappy. Had I overlooked something that was really important to them? Apparently I had! As I feverishly wracked my brain about any unintended but unfortunate transgression that I may have committed, I all of a sudden remembered that it was St. Patrick's Day, and that it is not one of our kitties' favorite holidays since so many pet lovers who celebrate this annual event often dress their furry companions in outlandish costumes and unabashedly parade them around for all to see. They both think that this is in very bad taste, and definitely were concerned that, since I was dancing a little jig around the kitchen to the lilting music, my next step might be entertaining thoughts of donning them in some fancy green attire. But after I allayed their concerns in the dress-up department, as they were polishing off their morning meal, I explained wearing costumes certainly was not mandatory, and that some clever pet lovers had found a few rather ingenious ways to celebrate the holiday. For example... Marc Gunn, a cat loving entrepreneur who enjoys singing Irish drinking songs and listening to Celtic music, created songs featuring cats themed for St. Patrick's Day. "Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers", produced by Ari Koinuma, was one of the top CDs on CDBaby in 2005. It was the #1 song in the Song Parody category, and a top 10 Celtic Album. "Whiskers in the Jar", produced by Rich Brotherton, became another huge hit with his fans. Visit his website at http://www.catdrinkingsongs.com/. Folks "putting on the dog" who are especially enamored with Pugs are celebrating the holiday today with a parade highlighting the breed in Cleveland, Ohio. The parade is sponsored by PugSocial.com. Canine fans interested in joining the celebration should meet at Superior Ave., near East 22nd Street no later than 12:30 P.M. The group is in Division I, Unit NN. For more information and fascinating facts about Pugs, visit their website. So I am happy to report that both Hush Puppy and Hubble no longer feel that their dignity is threatened. As a matter of fact, both of them apparently even enjoyed the delightful background music in this charming St. Patrick's Day video, "River Dancing Chihuahua" uploaded to YouTube by kikopup: How will you be celebrating St. Patrick's Day with your pets? Leave a comment and tell us! Image Source: Flickr user: scarlatti 2004