As a pet owner, I want my li’l furball to be the happiest she can be always! Squash loves so many things and I love to see her smile. I wish I could spoil her to the extreme. Alas, as with most things in life, we need to set limits and boundaries if we want to raise a balanced, well-behaved animal.

That doesn’t stop me from dreaming though. For example, I wish I could give Squashity an entire swimming pool of Jiff, just to see what she’d do. My husband thinks Squasharina’s ultimate dream-come-true would be “an open field, not a tree in sight, and one squirrel. Game on.”

Oh man, if only our pets could talk and tell us what their ultimate fantasy would actually be. Can you imagine the kind of things they dream about when they are in that deep slumber and their legs start twitching?

Since we can’t actually ask our pets this question, I decided to take a poll of dog and cat owners to hear what they believe would be their pets’ ultimate fantasy. (There seems to be a little bit of a theme among the dogs.)

Here are some of my faves:

DOG FANTASIES

  Elise Weiler, Ginger’s mom – “a field full of rabbits and squirrels to chase”

 

Claudia Schumer, Eddie’s mom – “24/7 of nonstop petting, belly rubs, tug of war whenever she has the energy & and an endless supply of rotisserie chicken & peanut butter!”

 

  Cherie Getchell Cordon, Munches’ mom – “A wide open space complete with a lake for him to swim, plenty of squirrels to chase with wild abandon, and endless amounts of people food, including but not limited to pizza crusts and cheese rinds scattered about for him to eat and hide at his leisure. And the loving arms of Julia Rohan waiting for him after!”

 

  Jenny Alberti, Bruno’s mom (and Katy’s sister) – “A replica of my lap that he could nap in all day. I know that sounds vain, but he loves my lap.“

 

  Winfield & Laura Geiger, Pepper’s parents – “Winning at Wimbledon, wait scratch that. It’s to steal all the tennis balls from the tennis court on the lake path.”

 

Erin Sharkey, Molly’s mom – “A room of rodents (particularly squirrels). She has the terrier drive to chase and play all day long. She goes crazy to be allowed off-leash to catch a squirrel. The squirrels know better than to come anywhere near our backyard.”

 

  Jenn Henry, Hope’s mom – “a big box of Kleenex to shred and spread all over the house”

 

Elizabeth & West Smith, Brooklyn’s parents – “A seat at the dinner table with CHICKEN! If we bring home a rotisserie chicken, she LOSES her mind.”

 

  Kelly Marcotte, Bella’s mom and Rover-Time Walker – “A place to run everyday and be free! She gets this when we visit my parents. She also enjoys the pond. Not the water part.”

 

  Ellen Jordan, mom of Melvin from Breakfast with Melvin – “JUMBO bacon peanut butter pancakes that are so fluffy that he could bounce on them like a trampoline.”

 

Julia Rohan, mom of famed Chauncey Billups Vanderhoff – “A carpeted hallway, the length of a football field and a glass room (humanely) stocked with cats for observation and/or occasional ‘play’.”

 

CAT FANTASIES

  Laura Berg, Edgar & Cordelia’s mom – “Edgar’s would be to swim in a pool full of dry food. Cordelia would get high on catnip and then curl up in a beer box and sleep forever. Both fantasies involve ‘humans as slaves.’ Basically their fantasy would be a movie called ‘Planet of the Cats’ where the twist is that you’ve been on earth the whole time.”

 

Rachel Papp, Booba & Pockets’ mom and Rover-Time Walker – “Booba is obsessed with olives and anything baked. I’d give him a biscuit and 2 tbsp of olive juice as his daily dessert, and a giant kitty condo in the sun. Pockets would like a disco ball so she can chase the lights and a cat door on all my closets. She loves running in them and subsequently getting locked in for a day.”

 

Thank you to everyone who sent in responses. I had a lot of fun reading them and sharing them.

Sounds like we all need to pitch in and buy a warehouse with a grassy floor full of squirrels, tennis balls and a pancake trampoline; a rooftop pool filled with peanut butter, chicken, and pizza surrounded by faux lap chairs on the pool deck; and a long carpeted hallway that leads to the glass-enclosed cat room with a shiny disco ball, beer boxes of catnip and an observation deck. Who’s in with me?

It’s not too late to share your own pet’s fantasy. What would your dog or cat’s heaven look like?

 

 

Katy comes with an advertising background and a Master’s in Social Psychology, so she can basically read your mind. She’s also the proud parent of a sweet, smart, energetic “borador” named Squash (aka Squasharina, aka Squashinator, aka Squishy). Katy helps manage Marketing and Operations at Rover-Time with Julia.