F is for . . . Fur!

There’s an old folk song about a woman who spent her life trying to rid her house of dirt and finally died and was buried in dirt. Well, in my case, instead of dirt, it would be fur. Dog fur, to be exact. Annie’s fur gathers on the carpets and linoleum and on all the furniture, even where she’s not allowed to go. Every time I vacuum, the canister fills up with fur. How can one dog shed so much and never go bald?

Fur coats the seats and floors of my car so much that friends in black pants take one look and say they’ll get a ride with someone else. It’s not that I don’t vacuum—I even use a special attachment for fur–but Annie’s white and tan coat sticks to the velour seats so well that nothing removes it all.

I also have fur on my clothes. If I’m staying home, I don’t dare wear anything dark or woolly. I take pieces of Annie with me everywhere I go. Even if I grab a brand new garment out of the bag, put it on and go straight out the door, I still find fur. Every weekend, as I sit at the piano between songs at Sacred Heart, I pluck the pale fur off my jacket or sweater and send it floating. By now enough of Annie has gone to church that she ought to qualify as a full-blown Catholic.

Annie’s Lab-Pit fur is short and rarely needs grooming. It doesn’t seem to bother my allergies the way the fur of a collie or a cockapoo might. But it’s everywhere. When you love a dog, you learn to love its fur and accept that your clothing will never be perfectly fur-free.

Did you know that animal fur is different from human hair in that it stops growing at a certain length, grows in double strands and frequently has an under-layer for added warmth? Also, unlike female humans, female dogs like Annie are allowed to be hairy all over and even have whiskers. She wonders why anyone would shave their legs or pluck their eyebrows.

I’m participating in this month’s A to Z blogging challenge, and F is for fur. My alphabetical posts are distributed among my various blogs. Here is the schedule:

A Newsletter–A is for Annie

B Childless by Marriage–B is for Baby
C Unleashed in Oregon–C is for Crate
D Writer Aid–D is for Deadline
E Unleashed in Oregon–E is for Ear
F Unleashed in Oregon
G Unleashed in Oregon
H Childless by Marriage
I Unleashed in Oregon
J Writer Aid
K Unleashed in Oregon
L Unleashed in Oregon
M Unleashed in Oregon
N Childless by Marriage
O Unleashed in Oregon
P Writer Aid
Q Unleashed in Oregon
R Unleashed in Oregon
S Unleashed in Oregon
T Childless by Marriage
U Unleashed in Oregon
W Writer Aid
X Unleashed in Oregon
Y Unleashed in Oregon
Z Unleashed in Oregon

More than 2000 other bloggers have signed up for the challenge. For more information, visit a-to-zchallenge.com You might find some great new blogs to follow. I know I will. Come back to Unleashed in Oregon tomorrow to find out what G stands for.

Author: Sue Fagalde Lick

writer/musician California native, Oregon resident Author of Freelancing for Newspapers, Shoes Full of Sand, Azorean Dreams, Stories Grandma Never Told, Childless by Marriage, and Up Beaver Creek. Most recently, I have published two poetry chapbooks, Gravel Road Ahead and The Widow at the Piano: Confessions of a Distracted Catholic. I have published hundreds of articles, plus essays, fiction and poetry. I'm also pretty good at singing and playing guitar and piano. View all posts by Sue Fagalde Lick

6 thoughts on “F is for . . . Fur!”

Oh my goodness! I have five cats and I have cat fur everywhere! I have white cats and black cats so all of my clothes have a rather furry appearance…sigh… :o)

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I used to live in fur when I had Shelties.

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LOL! Awesome! I have six pets (3 cats, 3 dogs). Our senior dog, Hobie, is blowing coat right now, so white fur is everywhere!! And he looks terrible! I stopped at a pizza shop the other day to pick up dinner, and the clerk said, “Um, do you have a CAT, or something?” I looked down and I was covered with white pet hair. I just told her yes, I have three cats and three dogs. 🙂

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When we vacuum, we always look at the cannister of hair and say “we've vacuumed up at least a corgi in here”. He sheds (worse some times of the year). Totally get the fur; we have it everywhere too; we call it “the gift that keeps giving.”

betty

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