'FESS UP Pet People!
I got up this morning and started my usual routine. My heart just melted with love as I watched Peanut carry his new favorite ball outside to do his business, then bring it back in and put it next to his bowl while he ate. Zoe, if you’ve noticed, I hardly mention. That’s because she is so good. She sits like a little lady looking up at the kitchen island, waiting patiently for her food, looking so sweet and adorable. She melts my heart too. Scooter just gives me meltdowns. LOL.
I realize that I do have a favorite. Guess who? Yes, it’s Peanut. I want to know who your favorite pet is and why. If you have cats and dogs, which is your favorite in each group and also overall?
Oh, some will protest and say, “I love them all equally!” like mothers of more than one kid do. LIARS! I don’t believe it! There is nothing wrong with having a favorite. Doesn’t mean we love the others less, just that we love them in different ways. I’ll have to think a sec on why I love Scooter. LOL. I don’t know if I was my father’s favorite, but I remember Mom telling me that when my sister and I were young, he asked, “If the house was on fire and you could save only one, who would it be?” Mom of course, wouldn’t play that game. I was about four at the time and my sister a baby. My dad said, “It would have to be Sandy because Kathy doesn’t know she’s alive yet.” LOL. The privilege of being the first born!(By the time I was in my late teens, I was NEITHER's favorite!)I don’t know which of my pets I’d save first, but I know I’d burn myself to death if faced with that because I’d go in to try and get them all!Oh, and then I guess I'd go look for The Boss. LOL.
Little Man is my favorite because he’s the only one I had since a puppy. He was so pitiful when I found him dumped here, covered in seed ticks. When approached, he rolled on his back and peed. I guess I’ve always felt most protective of him because he’s always been timid and wears a worried look on his face a lot of the time. Scooter is his boss, and I’ve always been the sort to root for the underdog, especially when they have mean bosses! As for the cats, I really can’t say. They are so different, and hang together all the time, that I think of them as one unit almost.
Zoe is The Boss’s favorite, but I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because she loves daddy more than the other dogs do. And since she’s the “good one,” she causes less work/aggravation/annoyance for him, and for him, love means never having to work at it!
And I do love Scooter, maybe because he was harder than any pet I’ve ever owned. And when he’s sleeping he looks so innocent. Mostly, I love him because I can tell he loves me. I can’t fault him for his bossy ways, because, he’s just like me. No wonder the boss thinks I’m a pain just like Scooter!
So share your favorite with us, and don’t worry. We won’t tell your others. Just make sure they don’t sneak a peek at the computer while you’re typing!
Picture above is of Zoe and my beagle, Penny, who died a few years ago. It is one of my favorite photos. And no, Zoe is NOT a shaving cream brush!
posted by Sandy at 1/31/2007 12:03:00 PM
Pet People
14 Comments:
Sandy, at first I thought Zoe was one of those stuffed animal’s you win at the fair midway! And yes, I do see the toilet brush! How funny...
In the human department, I was my mom and dads favorite. I know because I was the last of 4 born. After they had me, they stopped because I was the one they were looking for! I would tell them that as an ornery teenager and mom was quick to let me know that after the year I was born, birth control pills were available! LOL That shoots down my theory but I still like to think I am the favorite. I like to live in a dream world at times…
My beloved Yellow Tabby cat, Skeeter will be my all time favorite pet! He was the most perfect cat a person could ask for. He was independent and did not require much in life. He never messed anything up and did not have many fur balls until his older years. He was the only one to listen to my babbling when hubby was away on a temporary job for 10 months without us. Skeeter and I were alone in a foreign country with no family around so we relied on each other for comfort. He was the best cat and seemed to understand everything we had him do.
Upon our arrival in Germany, we were temporarily staying in an American facility with the Army. (Hubby works as a Civilian supporting the Army.) They did not allow pets in the American hotel. Well, that was not going to stop me! My pet was not a flea bag, trouble maker and how dare you keep me and my baby apart! So I hid him in the room. I never allow maids in the room when we travel as I can make my own bed up and I don’t need things disappearing from my room so I was denying maid service. While hubby was at work, I would spend my days with Skeeter making sure he stayed out of sight. I had a hand vac with me and I would clean up after him and you would never know there was an animal in the room. Our friends were in the same hotel and she loved maid service because she is not a housekeeper at all. She was striking up a friendship with them each day. One afternoon while she and I played a game of scrabble (we did what ever to pass the time until the hubby’s were back to take us out on the town) she told me that I became a topic for the maids. They did not know why I did not want their services. My friend told them that I never want maid service where ever we go. (This is true cat with me or not) They were saying they had to get into that room to see if I was harboring a dead body! I just think they were noisy and wanted to see my stuff… Anyway, hubby and I decided we had to let them in the room. I did a bit of thinking and we bought a gym bag and some plastic trash bags. One morning on hubby’s day off, I put the liter box in the trash bag and hid it in the closet behind our clothes and shoes. I took up all signs of a cat in the room. I vacuum up any cat hair and liter crumbs as well. Now came the hard part. Getting Skeeter to go into the gym bag without a fight. I told him what was going on, as if he knew what I was saying, and put him into the gym bag. I told him to be really quiet and not Meowing for a few minutes. Then hubby and I quickly walked down the hallway and into the car we went with our gym bag. We were headed to the gym! Not…We drove out of sight then pulled over and got Skeeter’s kennel out of the trunk and transferred him into it. We took him with us that day and he was fine with it. My friend said that the maids went into our room and told her that she was right. I did not need maid service because the room was spotless! We did that gym bag bit for a few days to make sure the maids got their fill of the clean room. It got to the point that Skeeter would jump into the Gym bag as soon as I would open it up. As if he knew what we were doing. This was a crazy thing for us to do of course so we got with some friends that spoke German and they helped us get into a local German hotel where all animals are accepted! I did not have any trouble at all getting that maid to stay out of the room. She was from some other country and she could not speak German well or any English. I knew key words in German to get my point across. I told her no service in the room. She did not understand me so I took her by the hand to the bed where a lump was under the covers. Skeeter of course hiding and keeping warm. She was confused but went with me. I was saying in German, No maid service, Do Not open my door I have a cat in the room. She still did not understand me. I pulled back the covers to show her what I was talking about and Skeeter looked up and let out the loudest Meow as if to say I am under the covers now leave me alone! I guess she was not expecting to see an animal and she screamed and took off out the door and I never had her come near the room again the entire 6 weeks we were at the hotel. Not even for clean sheets and towels so I found a laundry and washed my own stuff… The things we do for our pets….
Today Cheetah holds a special spot in my heart. She and Sheba came to me as strays out from the woods. Sheba was Cheetah’s young mother and people friendly. Cheetah was scared of people so I had to really work with her to earn her trust. In doing so, she won a spot in my heart. Sheba is independent and does not need me but Cheetah is very needy and needs me. She is my shadow from the time I get up in the morning until she goes down for her noon nap. I spend more time with her, therefore we have a special bond. The Queen of Sheba does not miss out on much and is in my heart as well but she is more of a daddy’s girl but I would be too if daddy would let me push him around in bed like she does!
Hubby says Zoe looks like a walrus!
Gee, I barely recognized Zoe without her tongue sticking out!
Favorites, huh? Well, you have to PROMISE not to tell Ranger this, but Dixie was my favorite. She died 3 years ago last Tuesday. She was a lab/rottie mix and she was my first dog. I grew up a cat person. When the ex and I came here from Hawaii, the first thing we did was go to the vet (they had a rescue then) and adopt a puppy. This was BEFORE we found a place to live. He HAD to have a dog. We took her from the vet to the hotel we were staying in. This was January 1994.
She was TINY, this black, fuzzy ball of cuteness. My cats (that came with us from Hawaii) were not thrilled. But, I was soon smitten. So much so, that when the ex and I split up two years later, not only did I keep the house, I kept the dogs! They were not leaving Mama.
She was MY girl, she slept on my feet every night. It didn't matter that she weighed 75 pounds and wasn't exactly compact on the bed (she was a bed HOG). The hubby and I would frequently wake up in a tiny piece of the bed, all scrunched up against the rail (waterbed), because she liked to stretch out while she slept. She had the biggest brown eyes that could just melt your heart. She did not have a mean or ornery bone in her body. She is the one that adopted my orange cat (she was very maternal). And sugars, oh, did she LOVE to give sugars.
She will always have such a special place in my heart. Hubby's too. He built her steps to help her get up on the bed the last few years of her life. Arthritis got real bad.
One cold night in January, after going out to potty, she couldn't get up to come back inside. We went out and carried her in and put her in the big comfy chair and covered her with a blanket to warm her up. She died there in her sleep. I didn't handle it well at all. I grieved hard. I was a basket case.
But, at this same time, my mom was going through chemo for her last episode with cancer. It was terminal, and we all knew this. She died three months after Dixie did. Now, I know this will sound really awful, but my hubby said that it was as if God took Dixie to prepare me for losing my mom. Because, when my mom died, it was as if I had already grieved for her. I was at peace. I know, that's crazy and makes no sense, but I truly think that losing Dixie when I did allowed me to cope with what was happening with my mom.
Wow. Sorry. I know that got a little emotional. It just kinda came out. As you can tell, no one can ever take Dixie's place.
Oh, oh... the big debate "Who is your favorite?" I really don't know who my favorite is. Birdie is my first cat after 15 years of having none. So, when my husband brought her home I was a little skeptical, but when we saw eachother.. yes cue the music... it was instant love from Birdie's side. For me it seemed like she adopted me instead of us adopting her. Birdie would just come and sit on my lap and get petted and brushed over and over. Plus she would come running when I was sad or upset. She still comes running and meows in face. I don't know maybe she is asking "What's wrong" or simply "Shut up". So in a matter of a few days she became my partner in crime. I love her dearly even though she snore like my husband. :P
Socks we raised since he has been a tiny kitten and I love him just as much a Birdie. I love that he needs to sniff EVERYTHING. I love that he sits next to me in the bathtub, and even thought it's slightly annoying I love that he likes to use our printer at 2:30 AM in the morning. He gets on his back legs and presses the button on the printer until it ejects paper. Then when the first sheet comes out..he can't stop until they are all out. Maybe he was a Xerox boy in his prior life???
With that said... I love them both. Birdie because I truly believe I can see her thinking and Sockie because he is just so crazy that you can not love him.
Oh Stacey! My heart is aching so for you just hearing your story about your sweet babies and your Mom! I am so so sorry for your pain I can feel it! The good thing for you to have comfort from is that Dixie dies in the big old warm comfortable chair surrounded byt all taht love you guys gave her! You took such good care of her and loved her till it was her time to go. YOU just hang onto all the good memories you have of her and take comfort in them. I am still grieving for my sweet ones that have gone on to heaven. I have a lot of regrets of not having done more or wishing I had done some things differently for each one of them but at least they all knew how much I loved them and I would have done anything in the world for them.
Skeeter, Birdie, you guys are good Mommy's! I'll write about my girls tomorrow and tell you how I do not ahve any favorits but I do give the baby more attention usually.
Sandy,
Zoe looks sweet as can be and does NOT look like a shaving cream brush or a walrus either, just a real cutie!
Birdie,
Socks is giving you a CAT scan! Our Sheba does this every time we enter the house. She gives thorough CAT scans when we have come in from filling the bird feeders. As if checking us for Bird Flu!
Stacey,
I feel your pain. I have many stories of my animals as they are a big part of my life. I have written too many long stories lately so I will save the passing of my Skeeter for another day on down the road. Plus after reading your heartbreaking story, I am not so sure I could get to the end of Skeeter’s story right now...
Sandy,
Over all Zoe looks like a big cuddly teddy bear! I would be honered to have her snuggle up to keep me warm at night! I did not mean anything bad about the other comments just agreeing that I see the resemblance of the brush and the hubby made the walrus remark. But he took it a step further and I guess I should have stated that earlier but we were in a hurry to run to town so the fingers stopped typing. After the Walrus remark, he grinned and said Zoe is a cutie!
I must also take a minute to let you know how adorable Penny is in the picture with her big dark eyes! We all seem to be focusing on the big fuzzy Zoe and forgetting about Penny. I had Barney the beagle as a child and loved him dearly, unfortunately we were not smart people back then and he was hit by a truck right in front of us playing kids! My dad heard the commotion of screaming kids and ran to scoop him up and rush him to the Vet. It was too late and nothing they could do for Barney. We had him less then a year and from that day on, my dad said no more animals in this house! Daddy is a sentimental fellow and he took that pretty hard. He did not want to go through that pain again. We kids won out and grandma and mom came home with a new doggie within a year behind daddies back! Molly was an indoor (safely kept) Welsh terrier that was a ball playing fool! We kids along with the ( going through her second childhood) grandmother would fight over who would get to sleep with Molly each night. We had to take turns! She was the best dog anyone could ask for. We kids all grew up and left home but Molly stayed and lived to be I think, 18 years old. She rest in a special spot in my parents back yard and I go see and talk to her when I am home visiting. She left us about 15 years ago and her Christmas Jingle bells still hang on the back of the rocking chair in my parent’s living room! They do not have the heart to remove Jingle dog completely out of the house. Even though 3 cats have taken over the house!
Sorry y'all, I just cannot seem to keep these things short! I could just talk about animals all day long!
Skeeter, I said shaving brush, not toilet brush! LOL.
You all have such great stories, and we all have similar ones of pets that have touched our lives in so many ways and at the right time. One of these days I will have to tell you about my Yogi, the cat that made me love cats for the first time in my life, just a few years ago.
We'll have to talk more about losing pets at some point. I've lost 3, not counting my childhood pets. I still miss them all at times and think of them often.
Oh, forgot to say. If I was a maid and someone didn't want me cleaning their room, I wouldn't be asking any questions! I'd be using the extra time for a break! That is a hilarous story and the cat sounds like a real gem!
My favorite by far is Stinky Stella. Don't get me wrong I love them all, but she has these big sad brown droopy eyes and I just can't help it. She owns my heart.
As I said the other day she was rescued from an abusive breeder. It's strange I know but it's the truth. I met the guy through my mom, she worked with him. What they say about not really knowing someone is the truth. He would show the Saints and when he was out of town I would help my mom take care of them. It broke my heart to see all these gentle giants locked in kennels (jail). We would go a couple of times a day and spray them out, give them food and water. The guy would get so upset with us because he said we were feeding them too much and he couldn't afford it. TOO BAD!! I had trained a dog in high school and showed for obedience in 4H, so he asked me if I would be willing to socialize a puppy for him that he wanted to show. He didn't have the time. So we took Stella for 3 months. Of course I fell in love, how could I not. She was this big dopy puppy with these huge feet and was so clumsy. When he wanted her back, I asked him if we could do a co-ownership and she live with us. He said no, he was going to breed her. His plan was to have enough dogs with puppies so he wouldn't have to work. BASTARD! Thankfully Stella wouldn't have puppies for him. He even tried to inseminate her and she wouldn't take. HAHA! My mom would call me when he was out of town and I would sneak out to his place to visit her. I would cry when we left. I just felt so bad leaving her there. Mom and I even tried to come up with a way for me to steal her, but things changed before I could. The guy finally decided that he didn't want the dogs anymore. THANK GOD! So he asks if I wanted her. YES!!! I didn't even ask hubby, I just went and picked her up that day. My mom took Stella's dad, Janus, home that same day and we spent more than a month looking for homes for the rest of them. Placing a Saint is hard. Not everyone wants a dog that big. We called a Saint rescue and they contacted the guy but he refused to give them any of the dogs. I still don't know why. The Humane Society and Animal Control got involved. But before they went to pick up any of the dogs, 2 were let go and 3 were shot. We never found the 2 but I know one was found by a lady who owns a horse ranch and has a good home. He was never charged with animal cruelty but was black listed through AKC.
About 3 or 4 years ago he called my mom asking about Stella and Janus. He wanted to know if they had been fixed yet. Well of course they had. He was thinking about getting back into breeding and was contacting those who had taken a dog. When he found out that they were of no use to him, he left us alone.
When I brought Stella home she was under weight, had diapoo and smelled like you wouldn't believe. I think she weighed 85 lbs at 3 years old. I bought puppy food and poured it into her. The vet was so glad to see her gaining weight. Last week she weighed 115 lbs. She is smaller for a saint and most people think she's a puppy when they see her but she's 8 now and happy, healthy and spoiled rotten.
I never really had to train her; she just kind of knows things. She loves to cuddle and is my protector. If hubby and I get into a heated discussion, she will stand between us staring at him. She has even refused to let him in the house after coming home from hunting when he was wearing all his camo. I said “good for her!” ( I hate that he hunts) She loves to go for a ride or take a walk. The only thing I have to watch with her is men. She doesn't like men with dark hair or ball caps. I can't blame her. She has never bit anyone, but she will bark at them when they get too close.
Hubby gets jealous, because she talks to me, listens to me and always wants my attention before his. She is my cuddle bear and I love her so much. Drool and all!
On a sad note: Janus is no longer with us. He had bone cancer and my mom put him down right before Thanksgiving. But he lived a good, spoiled life his last years.
I'll try to send Sandy a picture of her.
First of all I do NOT have a favorite of my girls! I do love them all equally but having said that I do admit I give Penelope a bit more attention. One reason is because she is the baby ( Iknow she is 5 but she is still the baby here ) and because she asks for more. She loves to be hugged and kissed and loved on. They all like that but Penelope likes it the most. We have a morning routine that I pick her up and hug and kiss her and rub her face and head with my face. I tell her she is my baby and I think she thinks I'm a big kitty too,ha. She is also my talker. She talks more than the other two. She says bless you when we sneeze. Well ok, maybe it just sounds like she says bless you,ha but we claim that. She cannot stand the sound of silverwear and dishes being loaded or unloaded from the dish washer and she fusses the whole time she hears it. She doesn't like to hear anyone raise thier voice either. So if Daddy and I get into a argument she gets upset.
Courtney my big girl cuddles in the recliner with me most every night unless she decides she wants her spot on the couch.
Brittany has decided her new spot in in the rocker unless she wants to cuddle with Daddy which she has been doing a lot lately. Brittany sleeps with us most every night and has a spot beside me. I will be in the spoon position and she snuggles next to me. Penelope will either be at the foot of the bed below Brittany or on the bed they ahve on the dresser. Courtney likes to sleep downstairs or under the bed most of the time but once in awhile gets on the bed with us too. Lately she has been in the mood to sleep with us. As we talked about before, good thing we have a king size bed. Anyway they all three get lots of hugs and kisses and are told how much they are loved a lot. No one is in need of any love and attention around our house, well maybe except Jon,ha.
Adrienne,
your story of Stellas life before and the other dogs is so sad but thankfully you got her out of that life. And good for the other dogs too. It's sad that terrible man shot those other poor dogs but they are better off than to have a life of breeding with him. Lazy A-- people like him make me sick! The law shouldn't allow him to eveer have another animal the rest of his stinking life!
Birdie, you talking about your kitty getting in your face remids me of how my Samantha used to wake me up when I was having a nightmare. I'd be yelling or moaning and she'd come and meow in my face till I woke up. Brittany has since taken this role over since Sammy went to heaven. So far she has done it twice, hope she keeps it up since Jon is away so much.
Adrienne,
Your story about the Saints breaks my heart this morning! I am so glad that you and your mom got those beautiful babies out of such a horrible situation. I just don’t understand people that bred animals to make money from it! I think there should be a law against it. I know there are good breeders out there but unfortunately most are out to make a living from it, thus over breeding the poor babies… I am happy you got Stella away from that awful mess. She must be so happy now!
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