A little over a year ago, I said good-bye to the border collie who had been my dog for thirteen years. Bart was really the first dog that was just my dog. After my husband died, Bart was a source of great comfort and companionship. Growing up in the country, we had dogs that mostly stayed outside and were more family pets rather than belonging to one person in particular. We had barn cats, that were a delight to be around especially when the kittens were born. When I was first married, we had a Manx cat named Mocha and then a Tuxedo cat named Her Majesty Horrible Mistake (HM for short) Her Majesty used to walk around with her tail curled like a question mark. She loved me but didn't like my husband. When he traveled for work, she would sleep in the bed with me. Cats seem to choose certain people. Dogs are loyal to one person but they love everyone.
After Bart died, I knew I didn't want the responsibility of a dog while I lived in a condo so I got a gray and white cat. When I got her at the shelter the name she came with was Lilly (a soft feminine name) as her personality came out more and more I realized she needed a different name, so now I call her Sparky. In my family, cats names tend to evolve over time. My daughter had a cat named Tinkerbell who eventually was called Craziness. You can guess why. Because I work alone at home, I like having a pet around. That way I'm not talking to myself. Pets came into my life for different reasons and there are a ton of them that I haven't named. That would make the blog post really long. I did have two goldfish named George and Ringo when I was a teenager. And there were pet pigs who deserve a blog post all their own.
How about you? What were some of your most memorable pets? Did you have pets as a child? Let me know in the comments and leave your email address. I will be giving away three copies of Tracing a Killer the new K-9 book from Love Inspired Suspense. Tracing a Killer is book 7 in the Mountain Country series. There is a graphic below of the books if you want to get them all. Have you read any in the series already?
Sharon Dunn
We had a dog when I was kid. We got him at the animal shelter as a puppy. He was part Australian Dingo and part something else according to what my parents were told. We got him when I was 5 years old and he lived for 17 years. He was a wonderful dog.
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Living on a farm my early pets, like yours, were outside only. I had a brief few weeks between dogs and felt like my right arm was missing. Ezekiel Daniel came into my life. He started as Ezekiel but one day was doing something that required a second name 😜. He’s currently 15 and I know each day is a gift. Becca12901 at yahoo .com
ReplyDeleteI have read four books in the series and would love to read yours. I had a chihuahua as a child and Mixie was adorably mischievous. When my husband and I got married and had children, they kept begging for a puppy, but we were a military family and moving frequently, so we postponed getting one as long as we could. Finally, in Maine, freezing and alone much of the day, I saw an ad for a Pekingnese and went and brought Mickey home. The kids loved him so much, but he was afraid of my husband. He was with us for thirteen years, long after the kids were grown and moved. Along with Mickey, we had a gray tabby named Misty and the two of them were good friends. She missed Mickey so much when he died of cancer. She died shortly thereafter of kidney failure. We have an orange tabby now named Daisy and she is a feisty mess. She sits and begs for her treats, fetches small balls of paper for us to throw again and sleeps at our feet each night. Pets help make my world a better place. watts.vickie@gmail.com
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I have had pets, mainly dogs and horses, all my life. There are many that stand out. I will only list the most recent, starting with the current ones. Charlie is a 12 1/2 year old three-legged Golden Retriever who has bone cancer in his jaw so our time together is limited. At present he is pain-free. I also have a 30 year old quarter horse mare who I have had since she was 2. In June of this year, I lost a very special dog named Shadow. He succumbed to kidney failure caused by long-term chemo treatments. I am still struggling with losing him. There have been many other pets over the years. These included rabbits, goats, turtles, and more.
ReplyDeleteI am not entering the drawing since I have and have read Tracing a Killer. It is a great book as is the series!
frazierhlhs@yahoo.com
We always had pets as kids. Pepper the puppy and Amos the cow were favorites. Amybradsher@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteOh my, your pet stories!!!! Loved hearing about them. My father promised me any pet I wanted when I turned 10. I wanted a panda bear or a monkey. He bought me two goldfish. They lasted several years until my brother fed them to death. They literally split open. My little heart was broken. When I finally rented my own place, I had a dog, Katie, that came with the house, and my first puppy, Curry. Curry was my heartbeat until she died at 15, in 2001. We still have her doghouse, which has become a resting spot for feral cats passing through. I also had two parakeets, Isaiah and Jeremiah. Later, after marriage, we had to feral cats, Kitty Woo Chang and Creachie. Pets are a good thing, but I don’t have any now. Boo Hoo Barbara Diggs englishathome01@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI had a kitten for a short time as a child, she was diagnosed feline leukemia and my brother brought a puppy home one day and buzzy was a great pet in high school and then for my son growing up. We eventually got two cats and they were awesome and behaved more like dogs, greeting me when I came through the door every night and cuddled on the couch with me. One became like a diabetic support dog and saved me multiple times from low blood glucose events. They are no longer with me and I miss them very much! anniem1566@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThe first dog I remember us having( We had dogs when I real little but don’t remember much.) was a purebred Brindle boxer. He was registered but my parents never showed him. I was four or when we got him. Baron was very protective of us kids. He’d let no one he didn’t know near any of us.
ReplyDeleteduellonlysis at aol dot com
The next one we got was from a friend of my parents. They had to move and couldn’t take the dog with them. She was a cockapoo and so lovable. The things she let us kids do to her. Like, the time one of my brother’s and I put her on the sled to take he down the hill with us. We had to hold her on. We went down all right and hit a snowbank along the curb.Needless to say, we didn’t see the dog the rest of the day. She avoided both of us!
Miss them both to this day!
Growing up we always had pets: horses, dogs, cats, fish, rabbits...or some combination of all of them. We had a Siamese cat that was lots of fun, he would pounce on anything that moved. While my parents didn't encourage animals in the house, they made an exception for him.
ReplyDeleteFor the last 20 years our household has looked a bit like "Noah's Ark on steroids." If it was a common pet or livestock, we probably had it. I never expected to fall in love with dairy cows, but I've changed from a horsewoman to a Jersey girl. I love their personalities...and have one that loves to travel. She gets so excited when she sees us hook up the trailer and will pace back in forth in front of the gate until we load her. She's great at VBS, home school farm days or 4-H ag days. Who knew cows could be such fun?
carrottopfromtexas2@gmail.com
Guess I neglected to answer the question... I have only read one of the books in this series, which surprises me! :)
DeleteMy cat Tubby was a character. Always entertaining. If you heard something you knew it was him. He has since past. And I just lost Garfield in July. Him and I would have our time. I would brush him, give kisses and he would give them back. I sure miss them. I had a cat named Fluffy and dog named Friskie as a child. Loved them very much. Your books sound good. Thanks for the chance. katsrus@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteMy family had pets growing up... mostly dogs. My sister had a cat once, but I think it ran away. I am not a fan of pets for myself, so we don't have any!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of the books yet. I like to wait until they are ALL released, and then I serial binge-read them!
Heather Mitchell crhbmitchellfam@gmail.com
We had three different dogs, a bunny, a bird, and a hamster as pets when I was growing up. I was never very fond of animals but I did love Rosie. She was a St Bernard/Alaskan husky mix that we inherited from my aunt and uncle when they moved. She was quite old when we got her and I actually cried when my parents had to have her put down.
ReplyDeleteYes. I have had many pets in my life. I would say the most sticks out the most would be Bear. He was found wandering around a neighborhood. My boss at the time new I was home alone at night and needed a dog to help protect me. That Bear did. As a matter of fact, he saved my life when a fire broke out in the unit next door. dpruss@prodigy.net God bless you.
ReplyDeleteYes I’ve had 4 memorable pets growing up. But I have 2 cats now that we’ve had for a couple years. We love them. Luna and Roxy. Growing up we had dogs mostly & 1 cat named Sassy. My grandma’s dog named Princess & we had her older sister or mother we didn’t know which we named her Queenie. & we had another 2 dogs Cosmo & Taz. My email is andreadrake1@yahoo.com
ReplyDelete(writer61@yahoo.com) I grew up on a farm and we had many barn cats., Wheel was my baby- a 4 week old kitten that somehow managed to crawl into a spare tire and needed rescue: He lived to the ripe old age of 17, fairly ancient by barnyard standards.
ReplyDeleteYes I had a dog growing up her name was Lassie she was my best friend Sarahbaby601973(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteWe've always had pets, including growing up and the present day. We currently have 2 dogs and 2 cats. One cat came with our house and stays outside but comes in on rare occasions. I think our current cat is my favorite pet ever, and I'm going to be a mess when she dies. We've only had her a few years so far, so hopefully that won't be for a while! lcisson at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteI had a cockatiel - Spike. He could talk and sing and he enjoyed the rides in a toy train around the Christmas tree.
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I read this quote and I always use it when I try to console someone who has lost a beloved pet: “I loved you your whole life, I will miss you the rest of mine”
ReplyDeleteOur most memorable pet was Charlie, a West Highland White Terrier. he was the most loving and loyal dog who just wanted to be by our sides.
ReplyDeleteNancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com