Pet Nostalgia (no sad tales)

[Cat]

Sorry...feeling whimsical tonight...and remembering all my past pets: (all happy thought)

CATS:

Shadow: Your were *my* first kitty, and I loved you. You started me on my crazy-cat ladyness, and taught me never to name the squirrel and chipmunks (in that respect, rip chip and white-ears)

Felix:
Ol' Granddaddy Cat. You welcomed all our pets with respect (except Pete). You were fat, you were cuddly. You taught Shadow to hunt.

Tiger:
I was there when you were born, and you came to me first when you had your kittens. You were lovely and came running to meet me when I came home

Bo:
Tiger's son. You had a lovely fluffy tail, until you went crazy and pulled all your fur out. Such a mama's boy, and you needed to lay off the catnip

Kokomo:
My little Scottish Fold. You never did adapt to our herd, but I loved you and your silly ears.

The other kittens: Mousequin and Smokey
Sorry you guys had to go, I'd keep ya all if I could have,

DOGS:

Scruffy:
Sweetest dog. You were a picky eater, but loved your dried papaya.

Pete:
Nice thoughts..umm...you were...handsome. Dumb as dirt, but funny when you carried the kittens around (he was a Golden Retriever) You totally deserved when Felix scratched you on the nose.

OTHERS:
Mozart: Anole Lizard, Cute, fast, green
Lennon: Chinchilla.....silly guy got caught in our heating vent. Took a Hav-a-heart trap and Craisins to rescue him
Various Guinea pigs: you make me sneeze, but too cute.
Various hermit crabs: You guys rocked

[BookstoreEscapee]

Pablo...had me (and everyone else) totally doggie-whipped.

[Bella_Vixen]

Rookie: cutest little bed hog ever.

[ApolloSZ]

Peter the budgie.


Noisy little bast@rd.

[Cat]

Peter the budgie.


Noisy little bast@rd.

Yes!! I forgot to mention Patrick, my parakeet!! Noisy, loved to sing and escape!

[Dreamstalker]

Livia was one of my first cats. She played chess (seriously, my dad says that she would make legal chess moves), "adopted" me, didn't claw me when I crunched her tail. Loved dirty workout clothes for some odd reason.

[Salted Grump]

Old Witch

Big black cat, got her when I was four, and she was three months. Amazingly brave, once faced down a coyote and won, had at least 13 kittens that we knew about, probably more, had a scar covering her right cornea from a windstorm that put a chunk of straw into her eye when she was 6 months old.

Could open doorlatches, but preferred to be let out and let back in without meowing, yowling, or complaining, though if you picked her up, she would anyhow. Never clawed or bit unless she was injured, and she was smart enough to know when you were helping her (like the time I had to lance an Abcess between her ears when she was 10; She just sat there and looked at me while I cleaned the wound)

Only cat I know of that had no interest in 'peeping' when you were in the bathroom, loved sitting on laps and claiming you as 'hers' by laying out entirely, had arthritis in both hips before she was 10 so she climbed onto the couch instead of jumping on it, And was the 'mean old bitch' of the four cats we had, keeping the younger ones in line with little more than a glare and a hiss.

Oh; and she was an irepressible sneak. Dad used to get his meds after finishing his cereal, but before finishing the milk. That changed when the Old Witch decided to mooch around the time she was 9 (She went from full-time outdoors to half-and-half to full indoors over that time). Dad quickly learned to have his pills ready first, Then have his cereal, and leave some milk on a saucer for her.

She loved everyone equally, purred like a four-cylinder engine with a bad piston, and had a kink in her tail where the door accidentally slammed shut on it one year.

Always walked down the laneway to meet me at 4:15 PM after school, and loved curling up on top of my schoolbag as I walked to the house with her. The only pet I've considered to be 'mine'.

[Bandit]

Dogs:

Rusty - if you could throw a telephone pole into the lake, he'd go get it. And then eat it if he could.

Kate - Liked to be outside when it was hot.....even after being sprayed by a skunk. <LE PEW!>

Cats:

Jade aka The Blob - over affectionate black cat with an IQ of a sack of hammers. His purrs on the bed in the morning would wake me up. If I turned over to go back to sleep, he'd walk to the other end of the bed, cross over, and walk back to keep purring at me.

Goldie aka Little Squeek - this cat would talk to me. Most memorable moment was after I came home after being on a business trip for a week. She accepted a pet, hissed at me and ran away for 5 minutes. By the time I had recovered from the laughing, she was back rubbing, purring, and squeeking at me.

Mika and Akim - the mirror image cats. Mika was the mom, and Akim was the kitten. They were both calicos and mirror image of each-other. Mika was mostly white with patches, and Akim was patches with white spots.

B

[Midorikawa]

Cassie was my first dog. Damned smart, and like all labs, a heart of gold. She would open bags of bread, eat the entire loaf, and leave an opened bag of bread on the floor.

She'd tell you when it was time to get up by ramming the bed with her shoulder, or shoving her cold nose down your neck.

She'd tell you when she deserved a treat, by sitting next to the laundry room where we kept her treats, food, and other dog related paraphernalia. Never would help herself, but would sit there patiently until you gave her a treat.

When we had her put down just shy of 13 years old, she walked into the vet willingly for the first time in her life, and comforted us more than we did her. (somewhat sad, but I still see that story in a happy light knowing she was calm about it, not scared, and knew what was going on.)

Mogli is our current puppy. I've posted photos of him before, and posted about him before. He's now just shy of 60 lbs (39 when we got him ), has become attached to us, and has really started becoming mouthy, as per the german shepherd breed.

Last night, I was eating pretzels, and he wanted one, so he licked my hand, gave me sad puppy eyes. I told him "No. That won't work." and went back to eating and talking to the wife. Apparently I annoyed him, because he barked at me, gave me the stink eye, and walked off.

In the mornings, he'll jump up on our bed and cuddle with the wife and I. He always has to lay on us. All 60 lbs of him.

When we'd had him for a week, wife was at work, and wanted me to bring her caffeine. She works at a local pet-friendly outdoor store (owner has his dogs there all the time, and he loves Mogli) I turned to Mogli and asked "Mogli go see mama?" He jumped up, bounced to the door, and stared at me expectantly.

[XCashier]

Princess: Cocker Spaniel/Chihuahua mix, very cute and smart and friendly. Liked to lean against people she liked, and if you threw her toy into the laundry basket, she pull the basket over with her paw to get her toy.

Trouble: First cat we ever had, a very handsome long-haired silver tabby with large golden eyes (he's my avatar on Fratching). Used his paws like hands, had a sweet trilling coo for a meow, sometimes meowed words ("no" "hello" "wow"). Very funny, like one of the deadpan silent movie comedians.

Flash: White cat with blue eyes, very much the lady, always caught people's eyes when they came to visit. Would graciously greet visitors with a nuzzle.

Red: Flash's son, a fluffy red tabby with an extremely loud purr and a cuckoo-like "Wah-ah!" cry. When I was pregnant, he'd sit on my lap against my belly and purr loudly. One time the baby kicked, causing Red to jump and look at me like, "What was that for?!" He was also another eye-catcher. One Halloween, a toddler came into our house just to pet the pretty red cat! (His mom was embarrased, but we thought it was cute.)

Sylvester: Flash's son, fluffy black and white with gentle "Now?" meow. Sweet but easily startled. One time Flash sneaked up on him, swatted his tail and made him jump three feet straight up in the air!

Shadow: Longhaired black cat, tail like an ostrich plume, easily the loudest cat I've ever met. He didn't meow so much as shout "MOUSE!" and you could hear him walk across the laminate floor -- no joke. Thump thump thump!

I miss my furry friends...

[AdminAssistant]

Jake - an Australian Cattle Dog aka Blue Heeler mix. He was larger than most heelers and had a mostly white coat. Fierce to strangers but a big softie to family. And cats. We have multiple pictures of him laying on the porch with a bunch of kittens laying around him and on him. We had him 14 years.

I had so many cats through the years (outdoor farm cats). There was Violet, my favorite, a calico. There were Tia and Tamara (yes, this was the 90's). My favorite litter was one that we had to hand raise - Mario, Luigi, Princess, and Bowser. They all lived up to their names. Mario was the leader, Luigi was much thinner and a bit sickly, Bowser was a big dope, and Princess was...well...a princess.

[Kal]

Princess, a rabbit my family had when I was young. Affectionate to people and would sit on your lap for hours if you had dandelion leaves to feed her, really territorial to other animals, including wild birds. The local tom cat came into the garden once when she was loose, leading to a panic of "Oh god, the rabbit's out, she'll be hurt!", which was swiftly dispelled when the next thing seen was the cat leaping vertically up the fence with the rabbit attached to its tail by her teeth. The cat dived over the top of the fence, princess smacked into the top and bounced back into the garden, unhurt, and we found about half an inch of cat tail where she'd landed.

[shankyknitter]

Sheba- best damned dog ever. chow/shepard mix we got when I was about 5. She was 18 months (same as my little brother) She'd adopted my brother and I as her pups and heaven help anyone (including daddy) who hurt us. She never did more than bare a fang and lay back her ears, but that was all she had to do. She used to follow us around like this big gold colored shadow. She took sticky fingers, halloween costumes, clip on pearl earrings, and a well meaning 'hair-cut' with unparalleled grace.

[draggar]

MacLeod - you were Mister Perfect, and when you're called that it'll never be in sarcasm or as a back handed compliment. Despite your trumpeting and your post-poopie dance.

Mango - you started it all and gave me my trial by fire. You were sweet to your friends and family but if anyone ever tried to hurt any of them, you'd kill them.

Dazy - you could have been our schutzhund finkie. Even as a puppy you were great and (even though my wife doesn't know this) I wouldn't have minded if she kept you. You rocked. But, without you we have the room for Luna. I hope your family knows what they got.

Minky & Mandy - you two were show cat "rejects". I even remember the night my dad brought you two home. I was so little but my sister and I put you two into a toy crib she had and treated you two like babies. Both of you had a very long and fulfilled life (Mandy, 18 years, Minky 21 years).

[Mishi]

Mr Bo. Jangles: My dad's rottweiler, but my horse and protector. I remember long games of fetch and the tales of how when I was little he was my yardbuddy/babysitter. He loved to chase rhinocerous beetles and once 'helped' dig up a concrete floor.

Marty: My staffy, he was my best friend and only ally through the trials of homeschooling, moving interstate and falling ill. He was a cheeky little sod, only loved my dad and myself. He used to rip everyone else's clothes off the line and boss my mother and siblings around.

Tipsy My feral/rescue kitten, looked like a short-haired turkish van and acted like one too. The only cat I've known that liked dogs and went mouse-hunting with Marty. She used to ambush everyone when they walked into the lounge. Always fell asleep curled around my head, but would move around in the night.

Angel My 'Pilbara Pedigree', also a cheeky little sod that loved going to the park and playing on the kids equipment. Once climbed a ladder when another dog tried to mount her.

Hailie My little weimaraner, used to be a scaredy-cat but now she's just a big sook. She must have overheard me talking about Squeak's dog Lucy, and copied by bringing JazzyBee a dolly last night when we got home.