Running With Quills: ELIZABETH LOOKS AT PETS

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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

ELIZABETH LOOKS AT PETS

A week ago, I was watching my grandson with his three shiny new fish. He and his two-year-old sister had picked them out and named them for characters in an action game I’ve never heard of. I doubt if the fish had, either.

The fish didn’t care. They just wanted to be fed.

The household already has a cat, but she’s so old she sleeps 23 hours a day. The kids both had been jonesing for a puppy. They settled for fish.

This time.

The subject will come up again sooner than my son likes. He wants a dog, too. But first he wants the youngest to be old enough to handle a pet carefully, to give it space and peace when it needs both. Right now the youngest is a full-scream toddler, and has the cat-scratches to prove it. (No matter how hard he tries, Dad can’t be everywhere at once.)

So I’m watching three fish twitch and shimmy for food, and thinking of various pets I’ve had. All dogs, because my Dad and I were allergic to cats. There was Rooter the Scots terrier, Doc (her half-breed pup), Terri (a beagle-Chihuahua cross), Trouble (a black lab, German shorthair cross), and Rainy Day Lady, a leggy, silky-eared silver weimaraner.

I still miss all of them. I especially miss my Rainy Day Lady, the beautiful, blithe spirit who broke all of our hearts when she died.

We meant to get another dog after Rain died, but the kids were grown and gone, and we were moving households to Washington state. In our kidless, petless condition, Evan and I found ourselves traveling enough to make up for the twenty-two years we lived in one place raising kids and pets. When we’re in AZ, Heather’s beagle Darwin, and pound rescue Sydney (aka the Dingo) visit often. When we’re in WA, we chat up strangers’ dogs.

We’re still traveling, still mugging strange dogs for our furry fix, and still planning to get a dog.

Someday.

But not today.

Do you have pet memories you cherish? Are you at a place in your life where you can enjoy having pets of your own?

And just in case you think people are the only species that needs the companionship of others....

36 Comments:

Suzanne Simmons said...: Ah, Elizabeth, what a beautiful blog! What memories it brought back of all the pets I've known and loved in my lifetime.

We still miss our beloved Merlin, one of the world's great cats. But now we, too, get our "pet fix" when we visit the kids with their two dogs and two cats, not to mention our seven-month-old grandson!; 5:07 PM
MichiganMom said...: Elizabeth...how beautiful!
We only had hunting dogs when I was growing up here in Michigan. I continually brought home cats and continually had to take them back.
As an adult, I have had numerous cats and loved them all. I just hate to lose them.
We currently have a part Golden and part Samoyad dog..Sammy. But his real name should be Velcro because of his attachment to my husband. They never go anywhere without each other! Green truck and two white haired handsome males!; 5:40 PM
DFender said...: Pet memories? Wow. We've had gerbils, fish, turtles, parakeets, doves, cats and dogs. Out of all of those here's with what/who we currently share our home: Doves, Chloe and Samson; Siberian Husky, Juno; Miniature Dachsund, Rocket.

Rocket, Chloe and Samson belong to our 16 year old son who loves them like well...his kids. The only kind he'll have for another 10 years I hope...lol.

Juno belongs to myself and the hubby. He's a year and a half of brilliant chaos. He's our third child, obviously.

I lived and loved with another Husky, Yukon, who lived until he was a ripe age of 13 and filled our lives with love and companionship... and antics! I still miss him and suppose that I always will. When I was getting home from work he used to jump to hug me by putting his paws on my shoulders. Until the day I came home pregnant with my first. Suddenly he wouldn't have anything to do with jumping near me. After my daughter was born he spent every single night sleeping across her bedroom doorway. His way of making sure no one harmed HIS baby, I think. *sniff*

Aw, aren't pets the greatest? My daughter's kitten that would only stop running in circles if she was on my curtains... the gerbil that would sleep on my son's shoulder... the turtle that would only eat grasshoppers. The joy!
;)

Thanks, Betty. Great, great memories.

Deb

wdvef: Would dogs vault effortlessly forever?; 7:05 PM
Karibear said...: I can't remember being so young there were no animals, mostly dogs and some cats. This, unfortunately, was back in the days before people thought about fences, etc, and if one got hit by a car, well, there were plenty more at the humane society. I think I said once before I was a sort of private rescue back in AK, and the last time I counted, I'd had well over 50 dogs, at least a dozen cats, and a flock of exotic birds. We've cut way back these days, to one dog [no cats, she's got an incredibly high prey drive] and one cockatoo. Most of the dogs were labs or lab mixes, or huskies. There were a few sighthounds, a few spaniels, and the dearest one - our heart dog - was a border collie cross from a litter my DH retrieved from a dumpster. She was only ~3 weeks or so old and was the sicklest one of the bunch, so he kept her and she got bottle fed and I cooked a special diet of hamburger and rice and vitamins. We had her for 12 wonderful years. Then there was the mini poodle that had been neglected to the point of abuse, and we had her from the age of 12 until she died last summer at the ripe old age of 22. It took her about 4 years to be confident enough to come in the door without stopping to see if maybe this was gonna be the time she had to stay out again forever. All of them had their own personality and character, and many times over the years needing to take care of them has kept me from giving in to depression.

My mother wasn't quite so animal- oriented in my early years. I had one pup someone had given me when I was 14 that was orphaned before it's eyes opened, and I bottle-fed it and it was definitely 'my baby' - but the next summer when I went to a church camp, she took it to the local humane society, and everyone who knows dogs knows what happens to adult dogs at the HS when they aren't cute fuzzy puppies anymore.

In fact, the last time I saw my mother several years ago, she suggested that I get rid of MY dogs [she finally had one of her own that she ignored], my bird, and my husband, so I could live with her and we could go to church and pray together. Needless to say, I kept the dogs, the bird, and the husband, and we immediately moved across the country.; 8:30 PM
BUGG said...: I was a bird person and worse of all, a bird person who didn't believe in cages. Bless my parents they put up with bird pooh everywhere. They laugh that when they moved my bed, years after I moved out, there was bird and bunny poop, yup I had a bunny.
However, my fondest pet was our dog Mikey. Mikey was a girl dog, and the best dog a person could have. We found her while visiting my grandma in Idaho, she was near dead and my siblings and I just couldn't live without that dog. We named her "Micro-mut"...don't ask cause I don't know the answer... we were kids. She sure was a mut though. Part german shephard, part collie, part dalmation, and who knows what else, she was NOT a very cute dog. So when we got her home from Idaho, we found out the dog was a girl, not a boy and shortened her name to Mikey.
She lived for 16 years. In her late years her health was so bad that my parents had to carry her up the stairs. She was the best dog, following us kids around the neighborhood. My mom always knew where we were, just by looking out the window to see whos porch the dog was sitting on. And I'll never forget my little sister falling asleep by sucking on the dogs ears.
Man, I miss her!
Charity; 9:12 PM
Ranurgis said...: What a darling picture! At first I thought the one on the left hand was a dog or a wolf, but here we have Bambi and Thumper. Felix Salten must have observed it in real life.

The pets I had were all small ones like fish and small turtles. Big pets in a small house with 7 people wasn't a great idea. Later, after we moved to a bigger place, we had hamsters and a guinea pig, inherited a parrot and a cat from friends who decided to return to Germany and finally, because my parents thought 4 kids were enough, my sister was allowed to have a dog instead of a baby. She is the baby in the family.

My favorite ones were the guinea pig Hansi and the dog with the whimsical name of Ivanhoe. Unfortunately, Ivanhoe was ultimately responsible for Hansi's death. He wanted to play with him and the cage my brother had built was not quite solid; after all, he also decided to cut 3 fingers on his left hand while he was building it. Anyway, Ivanhoe knocked off Hansi's roof. Everything seemed all right until a few weeks later Hansi began to eat less and less. One day, while petting him, I ran my hand across his back and felt a strange bump. After consulting with the rest of the family, we decided that Ivanhoe must have broken Hansi's back when the 'roof' fell on him. My mother was going to have him put down the next day the vet was open but they found him dead that morning.

Ivanhoe was a beautiful animal that sat like a prince surveying his domain in the back of the car. He was a beautiful honey shade (mostly German shepherd) and people in the other cars would do a double take when they saw him. He was, however, very hyper and when my family moved, that became exaggerated and he finally had to be put down. I was in Germany by then and not being able to see him again almost broke my heart.

I keep toying with the idea of getting a dog but I don't like small yippy ones and would never have a large one in an apartment. So I guess I'll make do without company.; 9:28 PM
Ranurgis said...: I keep staring at the picture because I love it so much. Where did you find it or did someone in your family take it? I'm toying with the idea of getting a larger print if it's possible. It's just an utterly amazing picture to me and really so symbolic.; 9:37 PM
Anonymous said...: As a kid I always wanted a pet, but since my mom was not to fond of animals (to put it mildly) that was not an option.
I did have gubby-fish at the age of seven. A few of them, actually, given to me by my cousin.
One shiny sunny day I decided the fish deserved to be in the sun, and so before I left for school I put the bowl in the window, ABOVE THE OVEN. Needless to say, the poor fish was quite literally cooked when I arrived home from school.
Then the same cousin gave me some more gubby-fish, to replace the ones I accidently killed. This time I decided to take no chances and put them on the corner of my desk and lots of stuff accumulated in the front.
Yep - this time the fish also died, FROM STARVATION.
Since then I´ve decided I´m not pet friendly owner and gave up on the idea.
Sirry.; 12:58 AM
Lori of Canada said...: We have had pets as long as I can remember. My father's parents always had animals (as I grew up, they had rabbits, which they let loose near our camp in Cape Breton; there were the cats who lived outside in the garage but my Nanny fed; and they had two dogs. When I was a young child, before school, we had cats. Both of the cats that we owned, and we owned them separately, died tragically. One was attacked by a doberman; the other became sick, left one day and never came back..... Then one day my Dad came home with a dog.

My Dad had worked part time (and under the table; my parents struggled financially when I was a child) at a garage and someone abandoned a car there. In the back seat was a puppy. Dad decided to bring him home and we named him Rusty. He was part German Shephard and part Collie; he was gorgeous and I loved him. I have friends who visit my house who don't like dogs; yet they usually like mine because they are so well behaved (but also loving). One of my favourite memories was of my parents and the dog. Rusty worshipped my father. If my parents were on their bed, he would get between them, put his back against my Dad and push. All we would hear is a THUMP and the cursing. My mom would wind up on the floor and Rusty would have what he wanted: my Dad to himself.

These memories are always poignant because Rusty was also my first lesson in sacrifice and loss. His back legs eventually started to go on him. We had moved to a house on a couple of acres when I was near the end of high school, but Rusty didn't really get to benefit from that. As his legs went, we would have to carry him outside to go to the bathroom (which, since he was such a big dog, could be a problem). His quality of life deteriorated and he was clearly in pain more often than not. As his pain grew worse, I had to lobby to put him to sleep. My mother thought I was cruel; I thought it was cruel to leave him in pain (and I could see the pain and humiliation in his eyes when he would try to drink from a bowl and would fall).

That was hard. Since that day, I have had other dogs. One liked to chase cars, another had been abused and when a friend was housesitting, there were problems. Eventually, we got two dogs. My parents divorced and my brother and I gained custody of the dogs. He and I share a house that I own. We had to put one of the dogs down a few years ago but the other one is still kicking (in fact, she is staring at me I type this because she knows I am off to teach shortly). One of my favourite memoris of her occurred during a blizzard. SHe had a tendency to try to run away. My brother was trying to clear our driveway (this blizzard shut down schools for three days) and he had part of it done. He let the dog out to go to the bathroom and she took off down the driveway. SHe got to the five foot high wall of snow. Stopped. Looked at the wall. Looked back at my brother coming hard on her heels. Looked back at the wall of snow. Rolled over on her back and hasn't run away since. LOL. Now, she comes up and gets in bed with me when I am going to sleep. Once I am asleep, she gets up and comes back downstairs to sleep there.

My brother doesn't want another dog after this one. I know I will be devestated when she leaves us. However, I can't see myself without a dog in my life.; 3:07 AM
Lori Foster said...: Elizabeth, I loved the photo of the dog. She's beautiful.

I've loved all my pets too, and I feel guilty that I haven't loved any as much as I love my fur babies now. I guess because they're lap dogs and therefore it's easier for me to spend non-stop time with them.

I love the wild animals too. Great topic!

HUGS,

Lori; 5:53 AM
Anonymous said...: Humans and other animals are all one creation. We still have so much to learn from the other species with which we share the planet, and the chance to have a close friendship with a creature of another species is a precious gift: a friend is a friend, whether he/she happens to have two legs or four, naked skin, fur or feathers, and yes, even scales.

Domestication is not some form of servility imposed upon dogs and horses, cattle and sheep, and even (just) cats: it is a mutual decision entered into voluntarily by two species, to their mutual benefit. The history of humanity would have been dramatically different, and immeasurably poorer, without the input of other animals in our lives.; 6:57 AM
Anonymous said...: Like Sirry, my mum did not like pets... even if we did have a dog the same age as me as I was growing up. My dog had the most uninspired "doggy" has bitten my mum and dad once and my grandma three times (ok, I understand why mum don't like dogs) before I was 5. Doggy wasn't trained and never got bath as long as I can remember and was outside all the time.

The only time she did get into the house was to go through the front door to battle our neighbours dog. Needless to say my dog won all the time ^_____^

When she got older, she started to lose her sight. Once I had a horrible hair cut so I hid it under a scarf. Next thing you know Doggy is barking at me and came running. I whipped off my scarf and said "stupid dog, can't you even recognise me?" She stopped barking and running and started wagging her tail.

She died when I was ten, and I will always missed her.

P; 7:02 AM
Ladytink_534 said...: This post has been removed by a blog administrator.; 9:03 AM
Ladytink_534 said...: I grew up with tons of different kinds of animals. First there was Sadie Mae (bull-dog), Pete (a duck), Sheba (white lab), Bobo and Sassy (bunnies), Kitty-Baby (cat), Skip (dog from the pound), Dusty (my Chihuahua) Opie (cockerspaniel), Homer (hamster), Mushu (hamster), Sophie (bassethound), Pepper (African Grey parrot), Milo (my cat), Amber and Skeet (cockatiels), Sadie (Nanday conure parrot) Sunshine and Flint (Sun conure parrot), a few fish and then finally when I moved out of the house I got two cats: Jarren and Sunsine. Of all these animals only Amber, Skip, Jarren, and Sunshine are alive. I know I'm leaving some out but for the life of my I can't remember any more!; 9:05 AM
Cbell said...: Inky was my very first pet of my very own. She was a stray mutt we found lounging around our house on the Air Force Base we lived in. We figured she belonged to a family that had been shipped off, because she was such a calm dog.

She was the best friend of the only girl in the family. She is the one who got me through my teenage angst years with unconditional love. She died when I was a senior in high school and even though we have had pets since that time, there will never be another Inky in my life.

What a great dog! Thanks for taking me down memory lane!; 10:02 AM
btuda said...: My first dog was Sam. Sad Sam, actually because he had the sadest big brown eyes we had ever seen. My uncle rescued him from being tossed in the river in a bag. He was a funny looking thing but my family finally figured him out. He was part terrier, part cat, part squirrel, part babysitter, part mushroom hunter, part mooch, part let's annoy the neighbors, and part best buddy.

Currently I have fish, a guinea pig named Tiger, a dwarf hamster named Max, and miniature schnauzer Trent. My husband and step-son brought most of them home at one point or another, but the dog is all mine. At least when he wants to be. Trent was a wedding present from a dear friend of mine who raises schnauzers. Best of all, he was already housebroken when we got him.

Unfortunately for Trent, his mom tried to save a few bucks by trimming his hair herself. He's not real happy with me just now, not to mention he looks like he ran into a weed whacker in a dark alley. *sigh* At least it will grow back out soon, hopefully before the other dogs in the neighborhood start laughing.; 10:24 AM
elizabeth said...: hmmmm

My first post poofed. Vanished. Gone.

Oh well, I just wanted to say that the pic of the deer and the bunny were sent to me. I receive a lot of jpgs in email, so I don't remember who sent it.

But if you Google deer and rabbit, I'll bet you find it.; 10:57 AM
Estella said...: We just lost our two pekingese to old age(15 and 14). We still have a 14 year old Yorkie and have decided not to have any more dogs. It just hurts too much when they pass.; 12:03 PM
Lou said...: I've been fortunate enough to have had a dog (I love cats but am allergic) and a horse for most of my life. The horse I had as a child was the babysitter during the summer months, as I would not stay in the house with a human babysitter (dog and I would escape out my bedroom window which was 3 feet from the ground).

I just had to put down my 15-1/2 year old Jack Russell Terrier, but still have 2 Rat Terriers (yes, it's a real breed), plus my older quarter horse. Both "Ratties" are rescue dogs from the Rat Terrier rescue group (Ratbone Rescues covering the US and southern Canada). **BTW Ranguris, Ratties are small (from 9 - 25 pounds) but generally do not yip. They bark, but only when there is a reason. They are short haired, loving, and great watch dogs.**

When we lived in the country with the horse at our house, the next door neighbor's chickens would come over and hang out with my horse - they became great friends.

Personally, I can't imagine life without at least one dog and a horse. Yes, it hurts terribly when they leave us but I think life is so much richer when they are with us.; 12:38 PM
Anonymous said...: Wow this hits home, we just put down our 14yr old English Springer Spaniel last month. Our first Adult pet. Her 12yr old cousin has been the greatest help getting us though the first weeks, strange how they know when you need them most. We know now that even though it hurts like the dickens when they go they are worth all the years of pleasure and love in between. So there will be another puppy when our Thatcher goes or maybe we shall torture her with a puppy at some point in the near future!! We just don't want to leave one at home while we teach the puppy to sail since two don't fit comfortably on our sailboat.

LOVE THE PHOTOS!!!!!!!!!!

Betsy; 3:22 PM
Stella said...: Lovely photos:)

Each story touches me. My pets have taught me so much about learning to just "be." In some ways each one is simple in that you know what they want and like so easily; they let you know. But animals are also individuals. Have you watched dogs tip their heads this way and that, and "puzzle up" their eyes trying to figure you out?

There's never a good time to go through the puppy stage with a dog. The trials can be frustrating. But for me there's never a good time to be without a dog, either--or a cat for that matter.

My cat was a rescue who had been really mistreated. She was so suspicious of humans but we just kept on beckoning and she came, inch-by-inch, until she could be a happy member of the family.

Ratties are dear dogs!

Cheers, Stella; 4:40 PM
Linda said...: I can never remember a time when we did not have an animal, usually a dog, in the house. My first dog of my own was a birthday present when I was 12. Buster was a beagle mix. We lived in a new subdivision mostly without fences.

Buster knew everybody. He dined at home and at several of the neighbors. My sister and I were older than most of the kids in the neighborhood. We didn't know many of the other kids, but all the kids knew Buster. On Halloween when we opened the door, we often heard kids say that this was the house where Buster lived. There was also the time a neighbor we didn't know showed up on the doorstep with 3 puppies, handed them to Mom and announced that this was Buster's half of the litter. They looked just like him so there was no denying it.

We lost Buster when I was a senior in high school. He holds a special place in my heart as my first pet as do all of the pets who followed him.; 6:48 PM
susan andersen said...: I've never been without a pet. When I was growing up, we always had dogs, plus at various times a duckling, frogs and toads, box turtles, a bat once that we brought home to nurse when his radar jammed and he flew into a tree on a piece of property my folks owned, a homing pigeon who adopted us. (I *really* didn't like that bird, but just TRY to get rid of a creature who's been trained to return)

For my sixteenth birthday, my father took me to the local pound to pick out a dog. I fell in love with a mixed breed 3 year old named Tiger. He was so cute in a goofy-looking kind of way and had a huge personality. I took him everywhere but my dad was the one he really bonded with, (and Dad with him) so I left him at home when I moved away a few years later.

My first dog as an adult was Jude, an Irish setter who was sweet, great with kids and one helluva swimmer, and my first cat a grey and white Manx named Maxwell. My husband was exceptional at taking Jude out to run her heart out and/or swim 3 or 4 times a week but when she died at age 11 and a lot of the places we ran her had disappeared, we decided to stick to cats.

Maxwell was also 11 when he died and next we got a brown tabby named Styx. He lived to be a month or two shy of 15. Of all my pets, I took his death the hardest.

We now have two 1 1/2 year old litter mate cats. Boo is a black and white tuxedo and Mojo a silver-gray. I can't imagine life without a cat in it-- they're such great company and those purrs just lower my blood pressure every time.

Great subject, Elizabeth.; 7:05 PM
Judy F said...: Oh this is such a great subject. We have always had pets growing up. Cats, Dogs whatever. My mom used say our cat Tiger lived so long cause he was carried everywhere.

Once I moved out I have had only cats since I live in an apt. Dusty was my first pet on my own and lost her to cancer last year. I still miss her. Luckily I have Sammy who is a godsend. He is such a good Kitty.

Right now my sister dog Trixie is very sick and its sweet that Sammy hasn't let me alone the last few days. Its like he knows I need the extra TLC right now.; 7:15 PM
Karibear said...: Reading all these reminded me of one of our borzoi. I got him when he was a pup who'd been bought as a present for someone else, who didn't want him - and neither did the person who'd bought him. He was the ultimate clown. The first time we left him home alone he rearranged the whole house! All the pillows and shoes from upstairs he brought down, everything he could get his teeth on went up. He even managed to pull a bear hide off the wall [it was about 10' from the floor] and draped it over the couch. He also dumped all the trash cans and arranged the contents artistically. The funny thing was that absolutely nothing was destroyed or chewed in any way, just moved. At the same time, we had a foster horse, sort of, who belonged to a neighbor, but we had a much larger lot so they fenced it in and both the dog and the horse became fast friends. They played tag constantly, first one doing the chasing then the other. When they wore themselves out, the horse would lay down and the dog would drape himself across his buddy's ribs. It all came to an end finally, when another ditzy neighbor decided there were too many rats. This was Alaskan spruce forest full of wild wood rats. She was renting a trailer on a lot full of commercial fishing gear, and she put rat bait out. She ended up killing all her own cats and dogs, and another dozen or so dogs in the neighborhood, including this particular pup of ours. And the horse was royally PO'd at losing his friend - he stood at the edge of the fence and hollered for weeks, there's just no other word for it.; 7:16 PM
Lis said...: I've only had 2 beautiful dogs and 2 sweet budgies in my 26 years. My sweet blue budgie Janet lived to a long 12 and a half years and probably would have lived longer if she hadn't hit her head on the swing in her cage and developed a tumor that took over the side of her eye.
My parents had a german shephard Rebel till I was five, then we waited till I was 17 and I begged for the sweet little black haired dog at the pet store. Aptly named the heartbreak kid (HBK) after my favorite wrestler, he broke our hearts when he got sick 6 weeks before his fifth birthday and we had to put him down. Like others have said above, after losing him I just don't think I could handle the loss of another dog. :(; 12:02 AM
elizabeth said...: I've loved reading all the stories! Homing pigeons and a sad horse, and purring cats. (okay, moment for envy here. love cats. ahhhhchoooooo!)

To paraphrase Robert Parker of Spenser fame: Heaven is where all the pets you ever loved come running to meet you.; 10:43 AM
elizabeth said...: Have to add--I keep laughing over the borzoi/interior decorator.

What a visual!; 1:05 PM
Jacki Bentley said...: I love my dogs...and my horses. When I was in my late twenties, I had the worst, hacking cough. My hubby had just taken a new job and I was keeping him awake, so I went and tried to sleep on the sofa in the living room. I'll never forget my dog coming to join me and sit by me with the most syumpathetic expression on her face. Even though I'd had dogs as a kid, that was my first realization that they could be capable of sympathy.

I have a small dog, a pom, now and she seems to sense my moods too.; 3:35 PM
Karibear said...: Elizabeth: That particular borzoi really was a clown. DH took one look at the house and went next door, he said "Do something, or I'm gonna kill the *(#&$" - right, Mr. Mush himself. Legs would also pretend he couldn't quite climb into the car, a Toyota, by himself and give me a pitiful 'Mom? I need help!' look - this was the same dog who played tag with the horse and had great form when he jumped the water trough lengthwise. Sighthounds are supposed to be aloof, but none of mine ever were. There was Charlie the afghan who did his best to play tag with the goat, but he wanted to chase and be chased, and the goat wanted to butt and leap. They finally agreed to disagree over play styles and just touched noses every so often. Then there was Shamrock the Irish wolfhound, who had his own couch which he loved to share with the kids - more than a few times my son fell asleep using him as a pillow. And Sadie, another borzoi, who just loved everyone and loved giving kisses - and emptying the bags of groceries in the car. It was funny - every time I needed to get gas for several years, I loaded up all the dogs, 1 afghan, 2 borzoi, 1 border collie, and a lab mix [I think - I know there were 5 of them], and we'd all go to the gas station that gave doggie biscuits. It got to the point finally where one of the kids working the pumps would actually pump the gas, and a second would bring out a couple pounds of dog biscuits. They asked me once if I always drove around with the neighbor's dogs [yeah, right], and were truly stunned when I said they were all mine. After that, I didn't even need to have the dogs with me, whichever kid was working would just bring me a bag full of dog biscuits even if the dogs weren't with me.; 5:49 PM
Anonymous said...: Elizabeth, that picture of the Weimaraner brought so many memories! Beautiful! We too, had and used to breed, Weimaraners, the most beautiful puppies, with their bright blue eyes and silky pearl hair. And sooo active, I bet you know, he he. Our first Weimaraner, Max Lord Von Mecking the Kortchnoi, Lord, was given to us by a Brazilian friend when we went to Florianopolis, Brazil, back in 1980. And we brought the 3 month puppy with us, driving in a Toyota Cellica, all the way from Flo to Asuncion, some 1,800 km. (1,120 miles), two adults, two children and a puppy! Don't need to tell you how that trip was, I imagine. He was the hubby's dog and faithful companion of hunting parties and also great company for our kids, he would let them ride on his back grabbing his ears!
We used to have 4 dogs, 2 Weimaraners and 2 boxers, actually a tiger stripped boxer has always been in our home. Now, besides the boxer, we have a 13 year old pointer, a miniature pincher (weights 1 pound) and a chihuaha, plus assorted parakeets, 4 parrots, 1 owl and about 22 turtles - a veritable zoo. Hubby takes care of all of them.

I de-lurket enough for now. Saludos cariñosos
Victoria; 4:50 AM
CorgiNole said...: Dad started us out with fish as he was adamantly opposed to pets with feet and fur. Finally when I was 11 (oldest of three girls in the family), he relented and we brought a cat home from a neighbor's OOPs litter. "Morris" turned out to be a girl, so she was renamed Sunset. Sunset loved two people and tolerated the rest of the family. Dad was one of her chosed two. Once she was granted the run of the house, she took over the bed as well. At the end of her years, she could stare Dad awake from a deep sleep so that he could fold the orange blanket for her personal use and find another blanket under which to continue her nap.

Several years later we convinced Dad to allow us a dog. A wonderful Sheltie named Duchess who we lost far to early to the ravages of arthritis. At their peak, my parents had 4 cats, 2 dogs, 4 parakeets, a bunny and too many turtles to count as my youngest sister took advantage of my parents softer stance on pets.

In 2005, we lost our 15.5 year old Chocolate Lab and our 16 year old Sheltie to age. My son (4 at the time) learned a great deal about death in a short time.

Soon after we brought home my dream dog. Dash is a 15 month old Pembroke Welsh Corgi. I've wanted a Corgi for about 25 years, and finally the circumstances were right to bring this lovable short clown into our lives. Though we wrongly assumed that a dog with 4 inch legs would not be able to counter surf - we underestimated his determination and long body. He can surf as well as any of the big dogs we loved over the past decades.

Cheers, Kirsten; 11:14 AM
ChristinaD said...: SANTA, BABY Contest (Lori Foster):
Tell me the craziest, funniest, silliest Christmas present you ever received.

When I was in 1st or 2nd grade, Mom & Dad got me a special stuffed animal. This St. Bernard doggie (named Max) was taller than I was at the time :-).; 8:51 PM
Madeline said...: The silliest Christmas present I ever received was from my mom. There are 6 kids in my family and every year mom made us a homemade Christmas gift. One year as we all rushed down to see what we got, we all started to laugh. It seems that mom had a sense of humor this year. She knitted us red and green hats and sewed cutout beer cans all over the brims of the hats. We decided to were them to church that morning and had the whole congregation talking about Ritas(my mom) crazy kids. We all still have those crazy hats to this day.; 3:34 PM
Madeline said...: The silliest Christmas present I ever received was from my mom. There are 6 kids in my family and every year mom made us a homemade Christmas gift. One year as we all rushed down to see what we got, we all started to laugh. It seems that mom had a sense of humor this year. She knitted us red and green hats and sewed cutout beer cans all over the brims of the hats. We decided to wear them to church that morning and had the whole congregation talking about Ritas(my mom) crazy kids. We all still have those crazy hats to this day. itwual; 3:37 PM
Madeline said...: Sorry, I'm new to blogging. Please forgive the double post. Madeline :); 3:41 PM

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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

ELIZABETH LOOKS AT PETS

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