Some people are dog people. Others prefer cats. Hailey Love, an assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education, refers to her dog and cat as “people pets.” Her two rescue animals, cat Callie and dog Louie, have contrasting personalities — sassy and anxious respectively— but they both share a fondness for making friends, even though they might not always extend that inclination to each other.
How did they get their names?
Callie’s full name is Callie the Calico Cat, and Louie is a version of Louis, a family name. At the shelters, their names were Daisy and Willie.
When did you get them?
I got Callie almost 12 years ago when she was two and a half. I had just graduated from my master’s program, and I wanted a pet of my own. I saw her while browsing the [Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] in Boston and immediately loved her. My lease originally said no pets, but we asked my landlord, and he would allow a cat, so, when the shelter required proof that we had permission to get a pet, we had this very shady, handwritten note on the lease.
She has moved with me all over the place. I got her in Boston, she went with me to grad school in Kansas, and then I lived in Las Vegas, and now here in Madison. She’s really been with me through most of my major life changes as an adult and is very special to me.
I got Louie when I lived in Las Vegas. I had just gotten there after graduating from my PhD program, and I wanted something that would help make sure I was not just working constantly and something to help me live more fully, get to know the area, and do things, so I decided to get a dog.
I feel like I get pets after major life transitions.
Do they get along?
They tolerate each other. They’re not great friends, but they’re fine with each other mostly.
Callie had been around small dogs because I’d pet-sit before. The longest I had watched my friend’s dog was two weeks, and that was the trial period for Louie. They got along fine; they would lay near each other [and] it was like, “Oh great, this is working out perfectly.” And then I swear two weeks on the dot it was like she realized he wasn’t leaving, and it was just like, “I actually don’t want anything to do with you.”
What are their personalities like?
Callie is so sweet and is a people cat. Any person that she’s ever met who said they didn’t like cats has become a cat person because of her or admitted that there are good cats. She also can be very sassy and very vocal. She’s not a huge player; she mostly is chill and likes to lay, but she can be a little feisty, and she’ll randomly run after something or get the zoomies and can be pretty stubborn in terms of if she wants to do something or lay somewhere.
Louie is also really sweet, but he’s also very attached to me and is pretty possessive. He gets a little jealous if Callie’s laying on me. He’ll come over suddenly and want to be near me. He’s interesting because he likes to be active, but then at home he’s fine also just chilling and sleeping and laying down.
Quirks?
Interestingly, Louie likes to play fetch in the house but not outside. I’ll sometimes throw the ball, and he will go catch it, and he likes to play catch or fetch inside, but I’ve tried it outside and that’s not an outdoor activity for him.
Any special skills?
Louie can do figure eights and spins both ways; he can jump through my arms if my arms are in a hoop; and he knows the basic sit, down, shake. We just did a fun dance class where they learned different moves, and so he can do backing up and things like that. He also has two of those buttons that became a fad, and so he will push “outside” and “treat,” but it’s not like he really relies on those.
Callie never learned any tricks — I think because she never had to because I just gave her everything. But she’s not a huge player. She’ll play with the ribbon for a little bit.
Favorite foods?
Louie is very good about not stealing or taking human foods. I was at a barbecue with him, and I randomly gave him a piece of chicken. He was like, “Oh my gosh, what is this?” He was that kid who never gets sweets, and then he gets some and he’s like, “Oh my gosh, this has changed my life.” Otherwise, I give him fruits and vegetables, so he likes apples, bananas, and peanut butter.
He’s picky with food and with treats, so it’s sometimes embarrassing because when we go to PetSmart or places that allow dogs and they’ll give him treats — they’re usually Milk-Bone or cheap treats—he won’t eat them.
If your pets are in trouble for something, what is it they’ve most likely done?
Louie loves to eat Callie’s food, and so he can’t even be left in the room by himself with her food. If I’m just running out to the car or something, I’ll have to put it up on a little shelf because he will eat it. And I can always tell because I’ll come back, and he’ll be licking his lips.
Callie doesn’t really have any bad behaviors besides being sneaky with getting outside. She will go to the back door [and] stand right there to try to get out. I have to pick her up to try to make sure she doesn’t go out.
Favorite show?
Yoga with Adriene (specifically when Adriene’s dog, Benji, is present)
Favorite nap spots?
Callie likes to be where the sun is shining, usually upstairs in my office where I have bench below a window. Louie also has a bed up there that sometimes she’ll steal and lay in, but she’s never been the type of cat who hides.
Because he’s so anxious, Louie’s safe space is his kennel.
What is one of Louie’s fears?
The very first day we moved into my house, Louie went upstairs and then came back downstairs and fell on the last step. He didn’t get hurt, but now he refuses to go down the stairs by himself, so he can go up the stairs, but he has to be carried down, and he’ll just stand at the top of the stairs and wait to be carried down.
If your pets were educators, what subjects would they teach?
Callie would be an English teacher at the high school level. I say that because she would be someone who students could come to and be comforted by and be supported by but [would] also give them a bad side eye if they’re acting up. Louie, I don’t think I can imagine as a teacher. He’s just kind of an anxious little guy. He might be an art major or something, just feeling everything very deeply.
