ALL MY....PETS! LOL

Again my inspiration for today's entry came from the message board. Someone was unhappy about attention being drawn to pets instead of hungry/sick children........I donate most of my charity money to the causes of both. This entry is dedicated to every pet that has touched my life.

My First memory of any family pets, was when I was 3 yrs old and my family was stationed (Air Force) over seas in England, we had a goldfish in an ordinary bowl sitting on one of the end tables. I was worried that the fish would catch a cold by staying in the water all night, so I proceeded to catch him with my lil hand and place him in my bed, on my pillow, under the covers for the night.  I must have forgot about him the next morning and when my Mother finally realized the fish was missing, I ran into my room, retrieved the fish from somewhere in my bed and plopped him back into the water.......needless to say, he didn't swim when I commanded him too. His final resting place was in the "Loo" We had numerous fish after that, but they slept in their bowls from then on.

My first dog was a St. Bernard named "Igor Von Klutz" he was pedigreed after all! lol He was the sweetest most lovable Dog in the world.....hours were spent as a child covering myself up in the snow and letting him come rescue me, hot chocolate instead of the brandy keg was my reward and tons of doggie treats for him. I was 6 years old when we got him and he lived for 8 years until his hips went out on him and he had to be put to sleep on Christmas morning.
He is always honored and missed on that day. His ashes are under the lilac bush of our childhood home which he loved so much.

My first cat was named JB after Jim Beam my fathers choice of beverage. He was black and white and hated to be placed on the stairs leading to my bedroom at night and told to go, "Night-Night!" For when I turned my back to walk away he would always chase after me and bite me in the butt,This always amused my family for hours! lol He died when he was hit by a car and my Brother buried him in the woods he so loved to play in.

I had a snapping turtle named "Oliver" after the orphan movie of course, he was brought to us when he was no bigger than an Oreo Cookie and lived to be 5 years old, never bit anybody and loved bologna, would love to climb out of his tray and swing on my Mother's living room curtains in the breeze with mud on his cute lil paws of course! lol He was laid to rest in the back yard, next to the house.

My Mother's heart was broken everytime we lost an animal so when they all had passed she said, No More animals..don't anybody bring home any more..... cats, dogs and she looked at me for some strange reason and added "babies" as usual I brought home a kitten named "Tarzan" and Cocker Spaniel puppy named "Ebony" and a few years later a baby named "Amanda".....Amanda is the only one still with me! lol She's 18. Tarzan lived for 17 years and Ebony lived for 8.

After I married my Husband, I adopted a Mutt Puppy and named him "Gizmo" looks just like the name! within that first year of marriage we started to add to our family and My husband thought 4 kids and 1 puppy wasn't enough for me so we adopted "Maxx" A pure bred Black Lab that loved to go hunting, I thought since I had a big dog and a medium dog why not get that cute lil tiny dog, "My lap dog" I found him one cold winters day abandoned and made him mine after he was bathed, groomed and brought up to date on his shots, he didn't know anything, he ate like he was starved, he was badly matted and covered in his own waste, he didn't know how to play, or climb stairs and it took him weeks to finally not be by my side, His name was "Waldo."

Last year was very difficult for me, Waldo slipped into a coma and passed away within 36 hours of his first symptom, he was less than 4 years old and had cancer. I was devastated, my kids were devastated. He was too young to die. That was February last year and in July Maxx had to be put down because both hips went out on him and he over compensated and broke his front shoulder. He was 10 years old and loved deeply, my husband stayed in the vets room with him till he took his last breath and my husband grieved for that hunting buddy of his. We all did.  We just have Gizmo left he turned 13 this spring, he is the longest I have ever had a pet. He runs and plays like a pup and I can't bare to loose him.  But as much grief as those animals caused me with their passing the "JOY" they brought to me and my family over powers and I couldn't image my life one day without them in it.  Now matter where their final resting places are they will be forever in my heart! Thanks for the memories my furry, scaled little friends!