Animal Dreams

I had this crazy dream last night in which my significant other/partner (who has asked to heretofore be referred to as "sun of my life") and I went to visit a friend of mine.  In the process of the visit, said friend took us to this forested park that was not a reserve, but was some kind of weird experimental natural habitat.  It gets weird.  Really weird.

The friend was telling us about how there were these enormous over-sized wild animals, like Godzilla-sized gorillas and gigantic bears.  The only evidence I saw of one was a bear that had been trapped in a huge cage that looked more like a ginormous teddy bear carton (you know, the cardboard boxes that bears come in).  Then, he showed us these really advanced apartment buildings that were totally cylindrical.  They were brick and glass and none of the doors opened by the pull/push method, they all had to slide to open since animals can push, but they can't slide (um, this is the rule in my dream, I have no idea if this is true or not).  I was scared because I had no idea why people would want to live here in these super nice apartments in the middle of this supremely scary environment of experimental animals-gone-mad. And then, my friend told me it was because these investors were sure that they would make bank on these apartments in the future...?

I was scared, and I asked if we could get some ice cream.  I remember eating some really delicious almond ice cream in the dream...although it kept melting too fast, so I was drinking it more than eating it, but I really feel like I could taste it in the dream.  The ice cream and bears together seem to pose a problem for dream interpreters...and by dream interpreters, I mean me.

I have NO friggin idea what this dream was all about.  It was disturbing.  I do think and dream in metaphors, so I assume there is some parable that my mind has made up in some way.  But I'm also kinda wondering about why so many animals have been in my dreams lately.  I don't typically dream about animals at all.  I don't own pets.  I don't desire to own pets.  And I don't really interact with pets that aren't my own (as those of you with pets know quite well).  But in my dreams, animals aren't pets, they are rulers.  In this dream they are uncontrollable freak menaces.  In previous dreams about a friend's cats, the cats were running the neighborhood while they were out of town.  What does all of this mean pre tell?!

Typically my anxiety dreams are normal: walking around in public naked or semi-naked OR my teeth are falling out of my mouth.  That's your typical stresser.  But what is this about animals and why are they so extreme?  It seems to speak to some form of fear, which I totally get.  I have some big changes coming in the near future. But why animals?  And why do they exercise so much power?  I know it isn't going to answer my questions, but I do now have a strong urge to read Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Dreams.  

According to this article in the Huffington Post, bears in dreams are uncommon and represent human behaviors.  Dr. Condron tells me I need to listen to the message of the dream...but what if what I hear is too confusing????  Any dream interpreters out there?  I'm lamenting the shortsighted decision to pack my dreamcatcher away into storage.