PUTTING THE “ME” IN MEOW:
Pet Selfies, one Pet Parent’s Story (Part 1)

Posted by on Sep 14, 2014 in BlogBog, Ms. Cheeze, Pet Selfies
MsCheezHoppedUp

ALL HOPPED UP:
Ms. Cheeze in a photo she’d rather you didn’t see.

It’s 8 a.m. do you know where your iphone is? Yeah, well, better ask your Labrador Retriever or that pokerfaced tabby.

I’d like to use this post to discuss an uncomfortable topic. Call this a public service announcement of sorts, but many of us have been in similar situations. At first, I was too embarrassed to talk about it, but sharing is healing. And I want you know, you are not alone. The shame and anger you feel is temporary. It will get better. You have the ability to move forward, forgive your pet, and put shaming incidents of pet selfies behind you.

Less than a week ago, I had an early morning meeting with a prospective client. As part of my festering OCD, I’ve developed into a champion of over preparedness. Call me a digital girl scout, but one of my backup plans is to keep numerous portfolio items (photos, drawings, layouts) stored on my iphone in the calamitous event the internet should go dark. Well one such calamity did occur: thunder struck and {BOOM!}, out went the power. But hey, I had that friendly glow in my pocket.

I slipped out my iphone, and began thumbing through my photo stash. As I searched for the perforated his n’ hers business card I designed for a local divorce attorney, my thumb and eyes became paralyzed. There before me in a 2″ square was a shocking image of Ms. Cheeze taken right on my patio. Her back to the ground, her tongue outstretched in ecstasy, a sprig of catnip in arched gracefully in her paws and out of the frame. Clearly she had been using.

As I tried to recover from the shock, I noticed there had been some activity on my Facebook page. I did a quick check. There at the top of the newsfeed was my Ms. Cheeze, bleary-eyed and red pawed with no fewer than 574 likes and a string of comments ranging from: “Helllllloooooo, Kitty!” to “I’z can has CHEEZEburger!” The poster was someone called Blab156. Who was that? And where did they get this humiliating image of Ms. Cheeze??

I tried to recover, but the client could see I was badly shaken. I told him I had an emergency at home at had to leave immediately. Once again my pets were infringing on my work time. Tonight there was going to be some serious talk around the dinner bowl.

I pulled into my driveway just in time to see Ms. Cheeze dart across the garden and under the barn next door. She looked humiliated and slipped under the gap in the foundation before I could grab her. When I got inside I had hundreds of email messages, some from supportive friends and concerned clients, and others from animal rights activists accusing me of animal abuse and neglect. On the landline there was a particularly alarming message from the Department of Pets and Families (DPS) notifying me of a court petition requesting Ms. Cheeze be moved to foster care!

I began to cry. What was I going to do? No one was going to take Ms. Cheeze a without a fight! Just wait till I get my hands on that Blab156. But who was this mystery poster and how could I get to the bottom of it before more damage was done?

Then I had an idea….(to be continued).