Always an animal in the house
UPDATE on Ariel: Mom told me today that she awoke this morning to see Ariel up and walking around in her pen. Hobbling, yes, but up on all four legs. She is still very old and probably uncomfortable, but Mom shared with me that she feels it is her duty to make her as comfortable as she possibly can during these remaining days of her life. There is still a spark of life in her, and none of us can see why that should be snuffed out until there is a more obvious reason before us.
Alright....on a lighter note......
I wanted to share with you all how far back the love of animals goes for me. I have always had an animal in my family. Since before I was born. Mom and Dad, in their tiny one-bedroom apartment, had Caesar Augustus, the blue parakeet. Parakeets were all we had until Mom noticed I began to fear four-legged furry creatures. Determined to stop that in its tracks, she surprised me one day (I was in first grade) with a ball of grey fluff, a kitten named Kelly. From that moment on, my fear of cats (and dogs) went out the window.
Let me share with you the smattering of pets which entered my life from that moment on. (I may leave some out due to my limited childhood memory....these are just the ones which stick out, for one reason or another.)
- Kelly, the grey furball (and her numerous litters of kittens)
- Bo (a fiery-tempered red daschund) (always got trapped underneath our gazebo when it snowed overnight; it was my job to dig her out!)
- General (a doberman)
- Spunky (a calico kitten)
- Mittens (grey with white paws) (tried to move her with us to Louisiana; jumped out of the car and we never saw her again)
- Snow (a white husky with one brown eye, one blue eye)
- Milly (named after the main character in "The Boy Who Could Fly," 1986)
- Butterscotch, Skeeter, Blue, and Joe (these were actually Dad's hunting beagles)
- Muffin (a.k.a., Blueberry Muffin; another parakeet....this one could talk like a parrot)
- Pickle (a long-haired black cat; something weird happened to her and all the hair came out on her tail; looked very weird)
- Morris (this cat walked up onto our doorstep in 1987; she didn't leave this earth until 2001, I think....a very spunky, deep-voiced, husky cat....looked just like the Morris in marketing ads)
- Skittles (a Siamese fighting fish....he lived for over four years....stay tuned later this week for a funny story starring Skittles)
- Sabastian and Sam (two kittens we had briefly while I was in middle school)
- Jellybean (a.k.a. "J.B.", or a.k.a. "Zjjjaaah-bee") (a black and white kitten who showed up on our doorstep, and stayed around for 5 years)
- Samantha (long-haired grey cat; my 13th birthday present)
- Ariel (best dog ever)
- Natalia (a.k.a. "Tal") (Samantha's daughter....born in April 1992 while we were vacationing in D.C.....still alive and kicking! Tal is the cat, actually, who made Ken learn to like cats!)
- Buster and Bessie (two more parakeets)
- Ollie (another fighting fish)
- McKenzie (she's a daschund-pekingnese mix....just turned ten years old last month....a ball of energy, and ball of nerves!)
- My current two cats, Odyssey and Ajala (both American domestic longhairs)
Whew. I think that's about it. I know there were probably more in there that are slipping through the cracks of my memory. But you get the gist...animals are a part of our daily life. They make us smile, laugh. They comfort us when we're sick, when we're sad. They sense strife, and they sense giddiness (and gladly join right in by running laps around the house). Even as I sit here, Odyssey is turned over on her back, paws up in the air, looking quite silly. I know she does it partly to relax....but also to make me laugh.
Alright....on a lighter note......
I wanted to share with you all how far back the love of animals goes for me. I have always had an animal in my family. Since before I was born. Mom and Dad, in their tiny one-bedroom apartment, had Caesar Augustus, the blue parakeet. Parakeets were all we had until Mom noticed I began to fear four-legged furry creatures. Determined to stop that in its tracks, she surprised me one day (I was in first grade) with a ball of grey fluff, a kitten named Kelly. From that moment on, my fear of cats (and dogs) went out the window.
Let me share with you the smattering of pets which entered my life from that moment on. (I may leave some out due to my limited childhood memory....these are just the ones which stick out, for one reason or another.)
- Kelly, the grey furball (and her numerous litters of kittens)
- Bo (a fiery-tempered red daschund) (always got trapped underneath our gazebo when it snowed overnight; it was my job to dig her out!)
- General (a doberman)
- Spunky (a calico kitten)
- Mittens (grey with white paws) (tried to move her with us to Louisiana; jumped out of the car and we never saw her again)
- Snow (a white husky with one brown eye, one blue eye)
- Milly (named after the main character in "The Boy Who Could Fly," 1986)
- Butterscotch, Skeeter, Blue, and Joe (these were actually Dad's hunting beagles)
- Muffin (a.k.a., Blueberry Muffin; another parakeet....this one could talk like a parrot)
- Pickle (a long-haired black cat; something weird happened to her and all the hair came out on her tail; looked very weird)
- Morris (this cat walked up onto our doorstep in 1987; she didn't leave this earth until 2001, I think....a very spunky, deep-voiced, husky cat....looked just like the Morris in marketing ads)
- Skittles (a Siamese fighting fish....he lived for over four years....stay tuned later this week for a funny story starring Skittles)
- Sabastian and Sam (two kittens we had briefly while I was in middle school)
- Jellybean (a.k.a. "J.B.", or a.k.a. "Zjjjaaah-bee") (a black and white kitten who showed up on our doorstep, and stayed around for 5 years)
- Samantha (long-haired grey cat; my 13th birthday present)
- Ariel (best dog ever)
- Natalia (a.k.a. "Tal") (Samantha's daughter....born in April 1992 while we were vacationing in D.C.....still alive and kicking! Tal is the cat, actually, who made Ken learn to like cats!)
- Buster and Bessie (two more parakeets)
- Ollie (another fighting fish)
- McKenzie (she's a daschund-pekingnese mix....just turned ten years old last month....a ball of energy, and ball of nerves!)
- My current two cats, Odyssey and Ajala (both American domestic longhairs)
Whew. I think that's about it. I know there were probably more in there that are slipping through the cracks of my memory. But you get the gist...animals are a part of our daily life. They make us smile, laugh. They comfort us when we're sick, when we're sad. They sense strife, and they sense giddiness (and gladly join right in by running laps around the house). Even as I sit here, Odyssey is turned over on her back, paws up in the air, looking quite silly. I know she does it partly to relax....but also to make me laugh.
Comments