I'd like to interrupt your regularly scheduled Sim Survivor/Allegorical Halloween posts to talk about the new Pets expansion. I installed it only a short while ago, after figuring that it couldn't mess up my game any more than the 1.26 patch had, and took the time to play around with it between Survivor updates.
After a good hour of fighting with Create-A-Pet, I wound up with a new and improved Doberman and dropped him into Sim-Me's household, on account of Doberman Pinschers being one of my favorite dog breeds.
Say hello to the internet, Vehk! (Yes, I named him Vehk. I am on a TES high in anticipation of both Skyrim and NaNoWriMo; deal with it.)
Though my initial impression of Create-A-Pet was not a positive one (I see what they were going for with the preset markings vs the adjustable color blobs, but the whole thing didn't feel user-friendly at all), the actual "pet experience" was entertaining. Vehk loved his Biscuit Ball.
And his toybox.
And I loved the enthusiasm he had for his chew toy. SO FREAKING CUTE.
"What's that you're having for breakfast? Sushi? You're going to share that, right?"
No! Sushi is not for dogs.
But you can certainly fetch the paper for me. I approve, even though I'll never read it and will, in fact, end up just throwing it in the garbage!
See?
Don't mind my arm clipping through your face, by the way. I am jabbing your brain with LOVE.
(Seriously, is that supposed to happen?)
It are can be squeaky toy tiem!
As squeaky toy tiem was in progress, I heard music out of nowhere and spun the camera around to see an ice cream truck pull up.
Sim-Me threw on some clothes even though the driver must have seen her bumming around in her pajamas and wandered over to have a look at the menu.
She wound up ordering an overpriced cone. Nomnomnom!
Meanwhile, a stray dog showed up at the edge of her property.
Vehk wandered over to investigate. Oh, dear. That's a rather...unfortunate-looking animal.
"Hello there."
"I like lightbulbs."
Good for you, stray dog. Good for you.
Now it are can be hugz tiem! D'awww.
Okay, the "play tug" interaction is adorable, but...
I can't help but think that something looks wrong here.
The game of tug over with, I instructed Sim-Me to teach Vehk how to sit. Err, that's not how you teach a dog to sit, sim-self. Perhaps you could be less idiotic about it? Please?
Despite her inept training methods, he learned to sit--and, as afternoon bled into evening, the ice cream truck finally left.
You know, I really like some of the animations. I've spotted more than a couple from S2, but others are new and they're pretty fluid.
After a long day of Trying Stuff Out, Vehk retired alongside Sim-Me.
"Hm, I wonder what lobster tastes like..." 
When Sim-Me woke up around four in the morning, she apparently disturbed him because he got up too.
"Ugh, I'm so tired...must get out of bed, though..."
"...So that I can move to a different spot."
Apparently Flexi-Leads are all that exist in Simland. Because I really want my large, powerful dog on a thin extendable leash. Yeeeah.
I'd intended to have Sim-Me walk through the neighborhood to the pool, as she'd rolled a wish to go swimming, but they moved so slowly that I ended up driving instead.
Whoosh!
Vehk liked the water. However, it was a miserable, overcast day and not great for swimming (thank you, lighting mod of atmosphericness and win!), so before long I decided they should get going and find something else to do. I directed them to the town square.
And Sim-Me, in an astonishing display of responsible pet ownership, got in her car and drove off without the dog.
Fortunately, Vehk's a smart boy and had no trouble following her on his own. He ran across town and--
Wait, what?
What? 
Somebody is keeping horses in their front yard.
Somebody is keeping horses in their front yard when they don't even
have a front yard.
Somebody is keeping horses in their non-existent front yard that butts right up against the town square.
I am not amused. There's got to be some kind of ordinance against this.
Moments after I saw the mother and foals chilling out on the sidewalk, a wild horse came galloping down Main Street. Fantastic.
Then a
second wild horse showed up. Even better!
Disgusted, I sent Vehk and Sim-Me home. The first thing I saw upon arrival was another stray. This one was standing about and thinking of vegetables while looking shifty.
Moments later it arrived at the conclusion that destroying the paper seemed a fine idea and set to with a will.
Then it wandered over to Sim-Me, perhaps in search of affection or validation, but she was too wrapped up in Vehk to give it any. Forever alone, little guy. :(
Forever alone.
The next morning--
WHAT THE CHRISTING CHRIST. WHAT. WHAT.
WHAT?! 
WHAT IS GOING ON HERE.
He soon snapped back to normal, but that twisted apparition will haunt my dreams forever. It didn't help that the ice cream truck showed up and idled outside of Sim-Me's property for most of the day--not doing anything, not playing any music, just idling in a looming, vaguely threatening sort of way. Sim-Me brushed Vehk and both of us tried not to think about how he'd exploded all over the kitchen.
The tension was alleviated somewhat when, after his brushing, he raised his leg in an inopportune spot. I'll admit: I laughed.
He then accompanied Sim-Me on the guitar for a while.
That evening, a stray cat appeared.
It immediately took a liking to Mitchell. And by "took a liking" I mean it sat itself down in front of him and meowed plaintively for
hours, as if it thought it could talk him into flopping out of his bowl and into its waiting mouth.
Oh, yes, and before I forget...
You can now order pet food at restaurants for some stupid reason. It comes in a nice blue bowl and looks like wet canned mush or kibble.
Apparently, however, it is in fact a solid cone.
I don't understand.
