Cupcake the Herdmaster passed today.

When I heard the news today, I was heartbroken.

Truly.

Immediately, I posted on Norma Jean’s FB page that her friend and mentor had passed.

Everyone who knew him was devastated.  Read Cupcake’s FB page… I should be so lucky to have so many comments, wishes and condolences at my funeral, if you know what I mean… This guy was LOVED.

But what was most impressive, to me, was that most of us devastated fans had never really met him.

In fact, we only really knew him through his voicebox… his human.

You see, Cupcake the Herdmaster was a lovable, rescued, impish and devilish Mini horse who ruled the roost at his Draft Horse Farm.  He was the tiny one, but he was the King.

And he had a very popular FB page.

That’s how we all got to know him.  Through his human.

So, who did we really know?

To me, I think we knew him through the eyes and heart of the one who knew him best…

And we all loved it.

We all believed.

Which brings me to the phenomenon of the talking equine.

THE TALKING EQUINE

As many of you may know, there are people (I’m one of them) who voice their animals via their pet’s FB page.

Sounds kinda silly, right?

Except… many readers get a bit of daily joy via these talking/reasoning/humoring animals.

I do.

I read Petey Pants and Henry the Mule.

Why?

Because somehow these animals inspire their human to be really funny and perhaps more wise/contemplative than they might be … say… at a party, for example… or at work, the post office or whereever.  I mean, I think that barrier of a fuzzy facade helps bring out the best creative writing in their humans.

The pets are these writer’s muses – like an artist has a muse.

And, as all pet owners will say, animals have distinct personalities… the owner is simply translating what the pet would say if he could…

FOR ME

For me, the passing of Cupcake the Herdmaster was shocking because he was so alive to me.  Even though I knew full well that what I was reading was what his human wrote, Cuppy came alive like any great character in a novel.

And, again like any great character, we resonated with him.

Cupcake’s antics endeared me to him because I have Shetlands and I know how they are… they are just like Cupcake.

(Most of us fell under his spell when his loving owners captured his essence on this video and added snappy music – to be honest, I cannot think of Cupcake without hearing the song.)

Talking animals – Cupcake or Petey or Henry or NormaJean or the singing Klaatu Xmas animals – grab us.

We want to believe.

We wish it were so.

We believe it is so… except we don’t want to admit it so instead we play with other like-minded humans via FB pages.

And why not?

Why not spread the joy through our very loving animals.

In a way, chatting with the animals daily is almost like a medicinal romp through the land of imagination and wishful thinking – with a chuckle thrown in.

Sounds like a remedy to me…  ;)

So, raise a toast to wonderful Cupcake who is, I’m sure, sitting on the right side of the Horsegods for having been such a wonderful inspiration for his human – who in turn delighted so many of us.

 

 

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