The Vocation

Today I was reminded of a certain side of myself that obsesses and agonizes over things that might not seem worthy of obsession to other people.  This does NOT include an obsession of keeping things clean or organized, which is why I would NEVER be mistakenly diagnosed with OCD.  The best way to characterize my obsessions is perhaps to say that I am obsessed with behavior.  My own behavior being the most easily accessed case study, but also other people's behaviors...even animals, organizations, you name it.

Here is an example of what I mean.  Back in 2005, a woman I worked with asked me to house sit and take care of her elderly cat and younger dog.  I agreed to it and thought it would be a fun adventure.  Well, in an effort to keep this story short, I will simply say that it was not fun.  In fact, it was a torturous experience for me.  The couple was on an international vacation for a week, and I was in charge of the animals toute seule with only the number of a friend of theirs to call in a pet emergency.  Never having had pets of my own as a child or with roommates or anything like that, how was I supposed to know what constitutes an emergency?  I did call once, and the friend laughed at me and assured me that everything was okay...if she had known what was going on behind the scenes, her answer may have been different.

So, what happened?  Well, the elderly cat peed on the carpet during the day just as the owners had suggested he might.  I used the cleaning solution, but then, I kept smelling it...and every day for the entire week I smelled it and kept scrubbing their carpet.  That was how it all started.  A few days after that, the cat went on a hunger strike and stopped eating regular meals to the extent that I tried to spoon feed him later in the week.  The dog started barking a lot when I was there and no amount of walking or petting would get him to stop.  

It was my own personal hell, except that it wasn't even mine!  But I couldn't abandon these creatures, so I did the only thing I knew to do in order to save their lives....  After the third day, I started a detailed journal of the cat's and the dog's behavior.  I got a legal pad and took note of every "momentous" interaction with the pets.  The entries looked something like:

• Cat pooped today.  Seemed like a normal amount.
• Put food out at 8:00 a.m.  Returned home at 6:00 p.m. and found food bowl empty.
• Dog barked for 13 minutes after we returned from a 24.5 minute walk.
• Fed dog 2 scoops of food, as directed.
• Cat hissed at me when I walked in the door.
• Cat clawed at the door from about 5:12 a.m. until I opened the door at 7:07 a.m.
• Dog stopped to sniff every weed on our walk today.

Yep.  I filled about 5 pages front and back of that legal pad.  I was so pleased with my thorough care taking and observations that I couldn't believe that the owners were pretty freaked out about my recording when they returned from vacation.  I was really afraid that one of the pets might die during or soon after their time in my care, and this was my justification that it wasn't my fault.  A complete record of our interactions.  Luckily, nothing every happened to these animals.

I got to thinking about this interesting experience of living with pets for a week because it reminded me that as crazy as I thought I was today as I freaked out about the hundreds of pages of dense theoretical material that it seems to take me FOREVER to read and how I wish I had stronger writing skills, I realized that despite my shortcomings, I am still entering one of the most suitable professions possible for me.  A profession that rewards this obsessive attention to behavior, and it is something of a strange comfort right now...and it really is a comfort.