Pets We Have Had

In thinking about our family, I think about our pets.  We have had many and I will try to remember them all.  When we first married and lived in Arlington, we got a cat named Leo.  He was an orange tabby.  When we moved out of state for the military, we handed him off to sister.  He was a wild one and a neighbor lady had him carted off to the pound - sad day.

When our second son was a toddler, we got Ginger.  She was a shetland sheepdog also known as a sheltie.  She was an outside dog and very protective of the kids.  She died at age 13.

Before Ginger died, I got a hankering for Siberian huskies.  So I set out to find one.  Located a female, red and white with blue eyes.  No papers, but she was a beautiful dog.  Then one day, she attacked Ginger over a chicken nugget and freaked us all out.  Casey had to go.  And so she was sold to someone with no other dogs.

Before Ginger got too old, we got Zack.  He was originally named Pork Chop, I think, but our daughter fell in love with him at a family reunion.  He was free and a mutt.  Poodle, shihtzu mix or something.  He is still living and is 15 years old.  He has cataracts and hearing loss, very weak now.

Our oldest son, at some point, decided he wanted a dog of his own.  When a fireman was giving away a rat terrier, he or maybe I, decided to take her.  She is a paranoid little thing and is still with us.  She is going on 10 years old.  Our son never bonded with this dog, didn't like her much.  Our second son did.  He couldn't take her with him when he got married so we still have her.

In between all the dogs, I got rabbits from the same family reunion location, and killed them both.  The first one ran around the house eating dead roaches and got poisoned.  The second one died out in the weather overnight one night, it may have froze to death.  But I can't remember their names.  Somewhere in there we buried a couple of hamsters and a guinea pig.

Then my daughter got her dad a cat right before she left for college.  She knew we both enjoyed cats so a high school chum's brother had brought one home and his mother wouldn't allow it so that's how we got Riley, a beautiful cat that is part Maine coon, according to the vet.  He is multi-colored.  He pretty much only loves my husband.  He takes to all the males in the family and is finally warming up to our daughter now that she has been home a while.

Then I thought Riley needed a companion so the guy that cuts my hair was giving away kittens and I took one.  He is a black cat named Ty.  Very loving and snuggly.  Since Riley didn't take to me and is not a lap cat by any means, I needed Ty.  He is my cat.  Sits in my lap all the time and sleeps at the foot of our bed every night.

We did get to have one more Siberian husky in the household for a brief time.  Our oldest son was given a female black and white, one blue eye, one brown eye husky by his soon to be wife.  She is still living and is almost 9 years old, I think.  Her name is Kiara, but they call her Kiki.  They also have a younger male husky named Koda.

Second son and his wife have a beagle named Lexie and a cat named Bella.  We sit for Bella from time to time.  Watched her while they honeymooned.

We have decided we are cat people, not dog people.  So, when the last two dogs pass away, no more dogs for us.  I think we will like having just cats.