AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PARTNERSHIP

We need to set the stage for a potential opportunity for a partnership.  First you need to meet the suspects and understand the situation.

The dog has several strong preferences including tennis or other rubber balls and shoes. Two recent casualties are a dog statue that was in the way between the dog and catching a tennis ball and my inaccuracy in throwing it.  The second casualty was a shoe that proved too irresistible for him to disregard.  He had to have a good chew on a shoe that was one half of a newly purchased pair.   In fact, I had only wore them once.  The dog has acquired the skill of opening pocket doors and in this instance he went into my clothes closet and found a lid of one of my plastic shoe boxes not snapped on tightly.  The rest is history.  I did take the shoe and chewed leather piece to get repaired and I should get the repaired shoe back in 2 weeks.  There is also minor repairs required to the front strap.

The second suspect is a drawer, cupboard and door opening cat.  The cat likes to open things and I haven't been able to figure out how she gets such strength in her paws to open a variety of things.  In some cases she will take a snooze in a cupboard or drawer she has opened.

My angst is related to the ability of the cat that likes to open drawers and closet doors and a dog that likes to prance around with objects he has retrieved including shoes, socks and gloves.  What would happen if they started to communicate and work together in a collaborative manner and teamed up.  Can dogs and cats understand meows or barks or can they interpret certain looks and glares.  How do they read each other's body language?  They could have access to clothes, shoes, food and outdoor wear and could create mayhem and disorder.