In the beginning...
I'm a lover of most all creatures. Just ask my husband. I've had a lot of pets during my life time, much to my parents dismay, since only recently that they cared very little for my love of animals and merely tolerated it. But I digress. I've parented hamsters, dogs, birds (parakeets & love birds) as well as cats.
My very first pet was a tiny turtle. You know...the kind that had a plastic bowl, molded into a tiny clear forest with a tiny plastic tree on a mock island?! Well, my younger sister took care of him. She wanted to touch him and ended up sticking her finger in the back of his soft shell, sending him quickly to the grave. It was a long time before I got another pet.
About age 8, I had two cats: Princess and Coco. Princess was a totally white indoor/outdoor cat who brought Coco into this world. Coco was a hot chocolate-colored ball of energy who used to hide under the sofa and attack my mother's legs with his claws (whether she had on slacks, jeans or nylons). At that time, we lived in rural Missouri, so our cats came and went as they pleased and pretty much did. I don't recall what happened to either, but I'm guessing they just "disappeared." Where I lived, that usually meant they went "over the rainbow bridge." Either way, I loved them both.
Then there were Snowball (mine) and Brownie (my sister's) the bunnies. My parents got them for us for Easter one year. They lived in a pen outside our trailer. (Yes, I lived in a T-R-A-I-L-E-R when I was a kid.) Little did my parents know that, even though they were brother and sister, they still liked to $&^# like bunnies! Before deposting their litter, my parents found them a new home. Go figure.
I guess my aunt Judy took pity on my loss, and we got a beagle for Christmas! It was my very first dog, named Snoopy. He wasn't very bright, but he was loveable. Unfortunately, his stupidity led to a short life. While taking my sister and I to school, he ran into traffic on our one road and met the fate of a truck. My mother scooped him up and took him to the vet but to know avail. He passed away.
After Snoopy's demise, we got Tiger -- a German Shepard/Beagle mix. He wasn't particularly pretty, but he was smart. In fact too smart for his britches. He survived being hit from a car, only to chew the cast off his leg immediately afterward. Boy was he stubborn. He was a great watchdog and protected us fiercely. I think my dad really liked him.
Of course, Tiger needed some companionship, so we got Challenger -- a full blooded Springer Spaniel. A beautiful dog, sweet, loving but dumb as an ox. He loved to run around, tease Tiger and get into everything. He was gentle and, one day, being a hunting dog, he brought home a baby bunny which he carried gently in his mouth and deposited in front of my mother.
My parents decided we were moving to the "Big Smoke" (aka St Louis), so they found new homes for Tiger and Challenger, leaving me in a puddle of tears and totally heartbroken.
(to be continued)
My very first pet was a tiny turtle. You know...the kind that had a plastic bowl, molded into a tiny clear forest with a tiny plastic tree on a mock island?! Well, my younger sister took care of him. She wanted to touch him and ended up sticking her finger in the back of his soft shell, sending him quickly to the grave. It was a long time before I got another pet.
About age 8, I had two cats: Princess and Coco. Princess was a totally white indoor/outdoor cat who brought Coco into this world. Coco was a hot chocolate-colored ball of energy who used to hide under the sofa and attack my mother's legs with his claws (whether she had on slacks, jeans or nylons). At that time, we lived in rural Missouri, so our cats came and went as they pleased and pretty much did. I don't recall what happened to either, but I'm guessing they just "disappeared." Where I lived, that usually meant they went "over the rainbow bridge." Either way, I loved them both.
Then there were Snowball (mine) and Brownie (my sister's) the bunnies. My parents got them for us for Easter one year. They lived in a pen outside our trailer. (Yes, I lived in a T-R-A-I-L-E-R when I was a kid.) Little did my parents know that, even though they were brother and sister, they still liked to $&^# like bunnies! Before deposting their litter, my parents found them a new home. Go figure.
I guess my aunt Judy took pity on my loss, and we got a beagle for Christmas! It was my very first dog, named Snoopy. He wasn't very bright, but he was loveable. Unfortunately, his stupidity led to a short life. While taking my sister and I to school, he ran into traffic on our one road and met the fate of a truck. My mother scooped him up and took him to the vet but to know avail. He passed away.
After Snoopy's demise, we got Tiger -- a German Shepard/Beagle mix. He wasn't particularly pretty, but he was smart. In fact too smart for his britches. He survived being hit from a car, only to chew the cast off his leg immediately afterward. Boy was he stubborn. He was a great watchdog and protected us fiercely. I think my dad really liked him.
Of course, Tiger needed some companionship, so we got Challenger -- a full blooded Springer Spaniel. A beautiful dog, sweet, loving but dumb as an ox. He loved to run around, tease Tiger and get into everything. He was gentle and, one day, being a hunting dog, he brought home a baby bunny which he carried gently in his mouth and deposited in front of my mother.
My parents decided we were moving to the "Big Smoke" (aka St Louis), so they found new homes for Tiger and Challenger, leaving me in a puddle of tears and totally heartbroken.
(to be continued)
posted by Turtle at 7:25 AM
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