AS ANY RATIONAL person knows, dogs make far superior pets to cats, a fact that has been championed tirelessly in this space for many years.
Then the other day, while reading the newspaper over breakfast, I came across a pet story so inspiring it made my little eyes glisten, to the point where I had to put down my English muffin and compose myself.
The story was about a dog named Hudson, who now takes his place alongside such heavyweight canine heroes as Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, and Pongo of "101 Dalmatians" fame.
Hudson, it seems, was enjoying another no-stress day around the house in London when he suddenly spotted Zoe, the family cat, spinning around inside a burning-hot tumble dryer.
There was no mention in the article of how, exactly, Zoe managed to get herself spinning inside the dryer.
But it's a typical cat stunt, if you think about it.
Let's face it, you never hear about a dog hiding away in the landing gear of a Boeing 767 bound for Tokyo and enduring a freezing-cold, 18-hour ride at 40,000 feet.
You never hear about a dog wandering into the cargo hold of a Trailways bus bound for Sacramento, and riding for four stifling days squeezed between two pieces of Samsonite luggage.
But cats do that stuff all the time.
I could lay a lot of psycho-babble on you that a veterinarian laid on me one night at a cocktail party to explain why cats do this stuff.
But basically, it's a desperate plea for attention. Plus, they enjoy annoying their owners.
Anyway, as soon as Hudson saw Zoe spinning around in the dryer, his noble dog instincts took over.
Forgotten were centuries of internecine rivalry with cats, the whole I'm-better-than-you trip that cats lay on dogs constantly, the dogma (sorry) that states every dog automatically rejoices at any and all misfortune directed toward cats.
Instead, Hudson began barking furiously, trying, in his own valiant way to ... sorry, I'm starting to mist up again.
What Hudson was trying to signal, obviously, was: "OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! ZOE'S IN THE DRYER! ZOE'S IN THE DRYER!"
Hearing this racket, the owner of the two pets came to investigate and thought Hudson wanted to go outside.
Which Hudson certainly could have done as soon as the door was opened.
He could have thought: "Whoa, this is mondo pressure! That cat's gonna fry! I'm outta here!"
But Hudson never lost his cool.
