A
holiday to be grateful that our pets don't have a better grip.
From Petcentric
How would life be different if your
pet had opposable thumbs? Would your cat abuse her can-opener privileges? Would
your dog open the pantry door or raid the cupboards? Well now there's a day to
imagine these scenarios... and be grateful that they're not possible. March 3
is What if Cats and Dogs Had Opposable Thumbs Day.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: since this holiday fell on a
Sunday this year, we are celebrating it this Monday]
Opposable Thumbs Day is the
brainchild of Thomas Roy. He has appeared in a movie with Brad Pitt and Bruce
Willis, but that may not be his biggest claim to fame. He and his wife, Ruth,
are the creators of more than 90 holidays, perhaps none quirkier than the one
that's celebrated on March 3.
The Brad Pitt movie in which Roy
played a street preacher was the 1995 time-travel thriller 12 Monkeys,
which is fitting because opposable thumbs are the signature feature of the
primate family. However, it wasn't his time on set that inspired him to create
this wacky holiday.
Roy explains, "Having cats and
dogs in the house for the past 45 years, it suddenly dawned on me that they've
always been beholden to me for food. They run to the kitchen at the sound of
the can opener, or even the lifting of the glass lid of the cheese dome. So one
day about 15 years ago, I knew I had to create a day that all pet owners would
appreciate: how things could go very awry if these pals of ours could get stuff
out of the fridge, open cans, lift the cheese dome, open doors, and who knows
... drive off with the car?"
The image of a cat operating a can
opener does make the mind wander to the other ramifications of pets getting a
grip, so to speak. Consider, for example, this comic strip in which a cat
with opposable thumbs devises a more effective way to wake up her owners. What
would life be like if your pet had opposable thumbs?
So how does one celebrate Opposable
Thumbs Day? Roy recommends, "Get on your knees and give thanks that your
pet doesn’t have thumbs!"
Or better yet, take some time to
appreciate the extraordinary abilities that your pet already has. Here's one petcentric pet who doesn't even need thumbs
to open the refrigerator and fetch a beer for his owner. As
long as you've got the thumbs to throw a ball or open the front door to go on a
walk, your pet is good to go. With an owner like you, who needs opposable
thumbs?
Learn more about What if Cats and
Dogs Had Opposable Thumbs Day and other quirky holidays at http://www.wellcat.com/holiday.html
