Nothing can Kill a Stray...

I went out to ride my horsey, Thunder, today. I've owned him for a year and he's a black connemara gelding, aged 14. i love him with a passion. but today, he came trotting right up to me. i went into his feild, and about six months ago iot would have taken me ten mintues just to catch him, but he stopped eating immediatly and ambled up to me. Admitedly, he had gone ahead and lost his halter somewhere in that feild, But I'd prefer to not dwell on that loss.
And it made me think about your relationship with animals. domestic ones i mean. They've become so attached to us, so loyal and loving, i wonder if they would cope if thier humans were whiped off the face of the earth. would they become instinct orientated once more, every dog for himself kinda deal, or would they die out too.
We've modified so many animals to fit our own likeings, changed thier posture, thier ears, thier tails, thier size, and we've taken it to the point where they are actually in physical pain to be the way we want them to look. I've heard of pugs that were bred to have such a squashed face that they couldn't breathe properly and german shepards who's backs have become so sloped they can't even walk right any more.
The only animals i could see surviving a human extiction would be the street dogs, the strays, the outcasts. I own a terrier mut we call Oscar who was resuced from a pound. Well, actually my aunt rescued him, then went ahead and had three children, gave him to my grandma to keep from harming the children, then when my irishwolfhound, Butler, died, we took him to help fill the hole. But anyway, he's one of the smartest, most cunning dogs i've ever met. I have no doubt that in a nuclear explosion, the cocroaches and Oscar would survive.
He's pure genius, he is. He settled himself into the life of a domestic dog from living basically ferral at my grandmothers house like a snap. he took one look at us and thought, "Yep, i can walk all over these guys."
we tried to ban him from sitting on the couch, but sometimes he sneaks on. and when that isn't enough for him, he snuggles into any space between you and the sofa cusion and as the night progresses, he will slowly dislodge you from your chair and sit his big but down in the warm spot where you were sitting.
He also manages to kick our 10 month old Irish wolfhound bitch, Duffy, out of her shed when its raining so she has to sit on the soaking ground for hours. She's not the brightest bulb, i must admit, but Oscar is an evil master mind. he steals duffy's toys and tears them to little peices so no one can play with them, then leaves the pieces lying around the floor in the hope that she'll try and eat one and choke.
There's also a time at night when Oscar insists that he be snuggled. we like to call this "Huggle Time". basically he sits right next to you, leans on you, and expects you to hug him till its time for bed. he doesn't return the affection, at least not in any visible way, but he seems to think he diserves the love anyway.
i don't think anything could kill oscar. He's got the stray set of mind, taking advatnage of any opertunity.