Pet stories

Aunt LoLo over at Bubba Bubbles (who recently commented here about exercising with little ones) just did a pet meme. I'm all about my animals, so I invited myself to reminisce. I think I'll cross-post this to OurStory.com, too. *Disclaimer* this is long and sappy. It won't hurt my feelings if you don't read it all! lol ;)

1. What is the first pet you remember?

Molly and McGee - sibling puppies. We got them when I was 5, and when we moved, McGee came, but Molly stayed behind.

2. How many different kinds of pets have you owned?

7 cats, 3 dogs, 4 hamsters, fish, 2 garter snakes

3. What was your strangest pet?

probably the snakes, because of how we got them and how they ate. My husband worked in a facility that was near a wetland, and one Spring, the snakes kept getting in the building. He was one of the only men not reduced to girlish behavior as they were discovered. One day he caught 2 and brought them home. We put them in a dry fish tank, and fed them crickets. Only, they wouldn't eat the crickets. After over 2 weeks of them not eating, he arranged a small reservoir for water and put some feeder goldfish in there, and the hunt began. It was like National Geographic or Animal Kingdom or something. They would slowly creep half way into the water, then gulp the fish, which would only fit half way into their mouth, then flop onto the dirt and writhe and turn all around, like they'd been electrocuted. Once, they both latched onto the same fish and it was like they couldn't tell the other snake was there, they just kept fighting to get the fish down.

These snakes were only about 1/2 inch in diameter and 18" long, so maybe it was their small size that made the viciousness so startling to me.

4. What is your dream pet?

Pretty much our cats - cuddle often, can be alone as well, don't smell, and most importantly, I don't have to pick up their poop!

5. What is your nightmare pet?

I'm not sure. I love dogs, but not my own. No love of animal could get me to pick up their poop every day!

6.Your best/ funniest pet story...

When we moved away from McGee, we gave him to Grandma, and visited almost every summer. For every year for the rest of his long life, he shivered with delight to see us again, even if it was only for a few days. He remembered and loved us.

Funniest - that's a tie between these 2 stories, both about fish. We had a puffer (fresh water) fish once who managed to get himself stuck down a filter tube. All we could see above the gravel level was his tail. We assumed he was dead, and since getting him out would mean removing the gravel shelf and an entire tank cleaning and water exchange, we waited until there was time. Over a week later, DD yelled "HE'S ALIVE!" And sure enough, his little tail was wiggling. Of course, at that point, heroic measures were required, so we pulled the gravel grate out, freed poor puffer fish, spreading sediment throughout the tank. The next day, he died, as did most of the other fish.

The other story involves the same sweet DD. We had buried a particularly mean fish called Bubba out back - he was so big and had so much personality, the toilet didn't seem the right thing to do with him. DD had a friend over to play one day, and when I called them to come inside, she informed me that they had been looking for Bubba, digging all over the back yard. Thank heavens they didn't find him.

7. Tell your worst/ saddest pet story...

That must be how Snowy died. He was an indoor/outdoor cat who must have gotten into something poisonous one day. DH was in between jobs, so we didn't have vet $, and they probably couldn't have saved him anyway. But it would have been nice to be able to put him down rather than watch him slowly die over a week. At the end, he could only crawl, drooled, might have been blind, and couldn't stand to be touched or spoken to. Today, our cats are indoor only. Snowy's brother and another cat we had at the time were both killed by cars. All 3 died within about a year.

8. Did you ever have a scary animal experience?

can't think of any right now.

9. What was your favorite pet?

Rascal was, until he died. Then it was Snowy. Now it's Oscar. He's a 9 month old boy cat who loooooves to snuggle on my shoulder.

10. What did you really want to tell us about pets that didn't fit into the other questions?

That would be Snowy's miracle. He ate a bread bag when he was about 4 or 6 months old. He loved bread and tried to eat it through the plastic. It should have killed him a few days in. But we force fed him liquids and watered down food, and lots and lots of hair ball grease, hoping the plastic would come out either end and he'd be OK. About a week into this ordeal, we were already expecting him to be dead, and he started to seize. We had a family prayer that he would die and be released from his suffereing. He literally jumped off his death bed and puked (a good sign - remember, to get the plastic out), and he lived. It took another 3 weeks or so before he got all 4 peices out and went back to normal.

No tagging here - play if you want and link back so I can read it!