The Adventures of Paco the Service Cat 10

The Perks of Paco

If you believe that animals can have a sense of humor, then you understand Paco. If you believe that animals can be intelligent and even witty, then you understand Paco. If you believe that animals can be vunerable and loving, then you understand Paco.

Having a little buddy like Paco around is more than just rewarding and entertaining, it's downright life enriching and even life-changing.

When I met "June" a service dog trainer, she struck me as very odd--the way she treated her dog more like a child than a pet. When I met "Sheryl" an AAT animal trainer, she seemed positively loony with her vast menagerie of therapy animals and her body always covered with tufts of hair.

It wasn't until I started working on training Paco to be a therapy cat that I began to understand these ladies' weirdness.

First of all, a service animal is NOT a pet. A service animal is expected to do a job, and is therefore treated with the expectation that they are serious about and want to perform their duties. In my experience, once they grasp the meaning of what they are doing they REALLY want to do that job. Paco gets noticeably upset when he does not get his daily car ride or his daily walk outside. He gets unmistakeably excited when I bring him into the building to meet with the kids, purring loadly in anticipation. Along with the obvious enjoyment Paco receives with his visits, he has become acutely aware of his responsibilities. Among other things, he is learning that he cannot abitrarily play and bite with just anyone. He must wait for the invitation to play and never take it too far lest he risk upsetting the child.

Having Paco with us at home has been an absolute joy as well. He has a long, sleek body and is able to jump four to five feet straight into the air. He loves to bound off of his cat tree and furniture and can easily throw his body six feet forward to land on his "prey". He is a constant source of entertainment, and we cannot help but laugh at his antics. He carries stuff animals in his mouth, taking them to his favorite spot where he kicks and bites them frantically
into a state of surrender. His favorite thing to do is play with Trixie Treats, the little black cat. They fly through the air together causing frequent midair collisions that leave them dazed and confused. You would think so head banging would put an abrupt end to their crazy fights, but a few minutes later both our once again joyfully chasing each other around the house. He has earned the nickname Spiderman because he will sometimes scale straight up the wall and slide back down again. He has earned the nickname Superman because he will sometimes bound off an eight foot high shell to unleash an attack on hapless passersby. He has earned the nickname Venus Flytrap for his ability to latch onto and consume unwary flying insects.

His amazing ability to launch himself into space like a mini-rocket is trumped only by his capacity to love. Paco is a lover, and often greets me in the morning by charging onto the bed and rubbing against my head. He is protective of his little sister Trixie as well as his older sister Remy--who cannot stand the sight of him. Despite her nasty protests, Paco continues to make contact with Remy. He keeps trying to get into her good graces, but sadly to no avail. It's as if he cannot stand the idea of someone disliking him. Thankfully, Paco is not pushy with people--which is probably the best quality for a therapy cat. He is ready and willing to love, but he seems to know instinctively not to push that onto anyone who is not ready.

Paco goes against many of the stereotypes of cats and shows that animals are far more complex than we give them credit. In a book I am reading about a blind cat named Homer, not only are the differences in cat personalities well noted but also the fact that any cat has the potential to become more than just a "cat". They have the potential to be members of the family, man or womans' best friends, and service animals with the ability to enirch and even save lives.