Markus Anecdotes - My dog, the cat. The cat, my dog.

Written by Markus and with videos and photos by Markus

About a month ago, I got myself a dog. A dachshund, girl and about 3 months old. Her name is Roxy.

Quickly she became the princess of the house, living the life most of us can only dream of.

She has direct access to a 200m2 garden, where she cannot escape from, but otherwise can do whatever she wants. So she digs, runs around and makes sure the garden is bird-free. Every other day we go to a dog park that is 5 minutes’ drive from here: a 30 acre forest where dogs can roam and play freely, without a leash.

Inside the house she of course has her own space, what was once the perfect place to watch TV, the couch, she has claimed as her own. While the floor is littered with dog toys, she still has free pick from slippers, socks and of course her favorite thing to chew on: phone charging cables.

So far a typical puppy dog, exploring the world as any dog would do.

But here Benjy enters the stage. A 9 month old cat that lives with the neighbors. From day 1 Benjy and Roxy are best friends. They play without hurting each other, team up in keeping other cats out of our gardens and of course, keep the place bird-free.

In the morning, after I wake up, first thing I do is open the doors to the garden so that Roxy can play outside. Here Benjy sits waiting for Roxy and so a new day of playing begins. As does Roxy, Benjy has free access all through the house.

Though Roxy meets other dogs, and I’m sure Benjy meets other cats, they chose to spend most of the day together. Not just to play, but so it turns out, learn from each other as well. Resulting in:

- My tiny dachshund tries to climb trees

- She plays with food as if they are mice, without eating it

- She licks herself clean after a day of playing

- She sneaks up to things to play with, crawling like a tiger, and then jumps on it

- When yawning, sound like meowing

And Benjy now is busy with:

- Digging holes in the garden

- Joins dog walks in the neighborhood

- Sniffs other dogs

- Begs for food

- Tries to emulate barking when told “no”

I can only wonder when the day comes that they try to hump each other.

So, what about trans-species?