PetStack: The Humor Edition
Celebrating the unofficial comedians of our homes.
How many times has your pet made you laugh – just today? Pets are the unsung stand-up stars of our households. Whether it's a puppy obsessed with chasing its tail or a cat who steals slippers, our non-human companions have an endless supply of comedic material. They seem to have an innate talent for turning even the most ordinary moments into laugh-out-loud memories.
If you need a little pick-me-up, scroll through the stories and photos three PetStack readers have shared for your enjoyment. I bet you can relate to the silly faces and goofy antics of their four-legged jokers.
Kristi Keller writes the wildly popular Dog Snobs newsletter with a large dose of comedy who always gets the reader thinking about canines and their companions. Can you guess which photo is my favorite? I’m curious which one made you think my pup does that, too!
I would need a full-time camera crew to really showcase how Dezi makes me laugh. I firmly believe she tries to speak human when she communicates with me. And for a 90 lb dog she has an uncanny ability to insert herself into spaces she doesn't fit just to get my attention. Even when she sleeps I laugh because she sleeps with her nose smashed into her bed so hard that it sounds like she's suffocating 🤣 She doesn't even have to try being funny, she just is. I often wonder if she was born this way or if I somehow created this monster?!
When Henny Hiemenz is not musing in his four newsletters, including Silent Punt and Empty Calories & Male Curiosity, he is busy podcasting, walking pups at a local shelter, or indulging in his dogs’ joy.
Maverick: This cutie guy spent the first six months of his life in a cage at a breeding facility for animal testing. He is the happiest dog we’ve ever had. We love his hugs, howls (we call them aroos; see video below at mealtime), and mischievousness. When he’s not stealing socks and eating them (only one trip to the doggie ER so far) he can be found cuddling right next to you. Sometimes he is so happy & sleepy in his kennel that we have to coax him out. He also has a hilarious routine when he goes potty where he has to spin in hilarious circles (video). It is not as hilarious when it is 5 degrees out.
This is Maverick (photo below) trying to jump over a wall at a local bar that allows dogs. There were other doggos he was trying to go play with. That is my wife trying to catch him…we didn’t know he was gonna do that.
Darla: We adopted her 8 years ago from the shelter where I now volunteer. She was (and is) white and at the time of her adoption the shelter thought she might be deaf. Turns out she listens…she just doesn’t always care about what you are saying. She is sooo sweet, but not in a cuddly way. She has lots of little weird things she does on a daily basis. In the mornings she does this cute little hop from the rug in our dining room to the runner in the mudroom (VIDEO). Another thing we love about her is how sweet she is to her little brother Maverick. He is much more energetic than her (ok, maybe you could call him hyper) but she puts up with him so nicely. Sometimes Maverick will nibble on her ears, or aroo at her because she has the toy he wants, and when they are relaxing he very often needs some part of his body to be touching hers. Sometimes even going so far to put his head or paw ON her. Sweet Darla just let’s him.
Katia Colitti is a champion of all things cat. In her newsletters, Minding Mittens and Letters to Mosi, this lawyer and animal welfare scientist, explores cat health and welfare, the close bonds we forge with our feline companions and the grief associated with their loss. She also connects present to past by exploring art and literature. I was transported from my home in the Midwest to lands abroad while scrolling through her photos of “cats” she found while traveling. The breadth of images represent the depth of love humans have had for these crazy creatures through millenia. Katia’s own stories share her profound love for the feline friends who’ve purred beside her.
Margo loves “playing the roulette” - lying on her side and swatting with one, and sometimes both, paws at balls going around a round plastic toy resembling a roulette wheel (usually, she gets an irresistible urge to play this very noisy game when I am trying to meditate or watch something). Most times of the day, she can be found relaxing on her back, all four paws with her delicious white ‘socks’ up in the air, usually in the strangest of places: think, the middle of a busy hallway or by the kitchen cabinets. She is a little furry bundle of light and joy, and we don’t know what we would do without her.
I am just realizing that 90% of my photos of Margo are of her lying on her back because she does it all the time and looks so funny doing it that I just can’t resist :)
In case you missed these stories and photos:
Joy Begets Joy captures the playful antics of a boistrous kitten, a one-in-a-million cat, a pack of pink-eared rats, and a flock of vibrant roosters from Portugal.
Women Inspired: Issue 2 celebrates three women and the pets who sparked the fires that ignited their journies. Because even the smallest paws can leave the biggest impressions.
PetStack First Edition features a cornucopia of dogs, cats, horses, and a big-eared donkey along with a smattering of alternate monikers. What pet has only one name?!
More pet stories are coming. Be sure you are subscribed to PetStack to get the latest delivered to your inbox.
Do you have a pet you’d like featured in PetStack? Send a direct message (DM) to Cindy Ojczyk on Substack, or subscribe to the Petstack newsletter and respond via email. Please send 3 to 6 pictures along with few lines describing your featured pet(s). Need more detail? See the PetStack About page.
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The cutest! This post brightened my day. Thanks, Cindy!
A great edition, Cindy! I need to get my doggy “fill” through others, so these videos and pics were perfect. I’m a die hard cat mom, so I will always love those stories too 😸