LET IT BRI is the column from Mandurah Mail journalist Brianna Johnson.
Brianna is the classic “crazy cat lady” with a deep and abiding love for caffeinated energy drinks.
She loves puns and can often be found laughing at her own jokes or at things no one else finds funny.
An avid traveller, Brianna’s special talents include the ability to find a McDonald’s in any city and speaking in a pitch so high only dogs can hear it when faced with a cute animal and/or a human baby.
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I HAVE a confession to make: I’m a crazy animal person.
This will be extremely old news to anyone who knows me but I've come into contact with a lot of animals this week so it felt like the right time to acknowledge this.
In the office my name is at the top of the list for any story featuring a furry, feathered or scaly subject.
Cute puppies or a dog that saved its owner’s life? I’m all over that.
Tasmanian devils at the Peel Zoo? Right up my alley.
The ultimate animal story would involve the talented canines in the Western Australian police dog squad, because those pups are basically my heroes.
Like all of the human officers in the force, they put their lives on the line and take down bad guys to help keep us safe.
When I was at the physiotherapist the other day, he asked what my job was like.
“Is it more like the TV show The Newsroom or more like on the movie Anchorman when he does the story on the birth of a panda at the zoo?” he said.
“Do you ever find yourself at a cat parade thinking ‘I don’t get paid enough for this’?”
I won’t lie – I had to force myself not to scream out “covering a cat parade would be my dream job”.
I’m not the only one who’s crazy about animals in the Mandurah Mail office, though.
My colleague Amy Martin is mad about pugs (in particular, her darling puppy Minnie) but what really makes me laugh is every time she phones home, Amy’s mum asks if she wants to speak to Minnie before she ends the call.
I plan to have so many pets one day my house will probably resemble a zoo.
People always say “don’t work with children or animals” but I can safely say animals are great story subjects.
And if anyone is thinking of holding a cat parade, please get in touch.
