master or servant?

In the year 2000 my husband and I wed and started our life together. Not quite ready for children we took the next logical step and bought a dog. Oh, but not just any dog, mind you, we HAD to have a LARGE dog. As the years went by our English Mastiff Orson grew to giant slobbery proportions. Giant feet repeatedly tracked dirt and poo through the house. Weekly wall(and ceiling) washings removed dried drool that sprayed from his giant shaking head like an elephant at a watering hole. Walking our beast would inevitably leave me tethered to some poor unsuspecting stranger or dragged behind while Orson fled numerous terrifying strollers and bicycles. These encounters always left me dazed and wondering WTF while Orson cowered next to me. Not to be left behind, large one accompanied us on every vacation, family outing, and even going to work with yours truly. One particular road trip had us gaping in awe as our sweaty panting animal proceeded to open his giant maw and deposit a whole corn cob on the backseat. Gross. Through all Orson was our baby. Our family wasn't complete without him. His epic proportions only gave us more to love. So many sick days were spent with him tucked against my body in our not so big bed. Bad days left me crying in his fur. Summer days had us drenched with lake water and itchy from sand while winter had us taking long quiet walks in the snow. Sadly as all love stories go Orson left this mortal coil after ten and a half happy years. Nine months later I still find myself crying as I write this.
Now I have a squirrel. A skittish creature that lives in my backyard and has grown quite accustomed to peanut butter bread. If he doesn't hear my voice he stares in my window until I acknowledge his presence with the morning treat.
I also have fish in a pond, a pond that had to be reconfigured and dug deeper as to save them from marauding night creatures. Another 6 mouths to feed. Six mouths that hover together each morning waiting for THEIR breakfast. Okay, coffee for mama, check, cereal for Sully, check, coffee for daddy, check, toast for squirrel, food for fish, check and check! Geesh, all these creatures big and small makes me wonder, am I the master of this domain or merely a servant to my surrounding fauna?
Whether it be dog, squirrel or fish, these quirky creatures start my day with a smile and the chance to watch tiny wild claws take food from my hand fills me with glee. Could be worse ways to start my day. Goodnight world.