April is Pet Appreciation Month. I tried to resist and write about one of our other fine topics, honestly. Okay, I didn’t try very hard. LOL By now you probably all know I’m a dog lover. Ginger is a rescue puppy, some combination of shepherd, rottweiler, and who knows what all. She brings joy to our lives, and a touch of comedy.
Surprisingly, though, I grew up with cats. We had a giant black and white long haired cat named Taco when I was young. Taco would lay on the couch with me, get a little leverage against the back, and push me onto the floor. Or so my mom tells me. Probably he was getting even for all the times I dressed him up in doll clothes. My girls have carried on the cat torturing tradition. The cat strapped into the doll stroller is my mom’s current baby, Bo.
I am not a rodent person. But several years ago I caved in and agreed to keep my daughter’s first grade classroom rats, Nibbles and Tahoe, over a week long school break. Tara let them crawl up her dress and cuddle against her bare stomach. (Shudder) They were kind of cute, but there was something about those bare tails…
Who would think moving into a college dorm would be a lesson in exotic pets? My roommate had a goldfish, God bless her unimaginative heart. One of the guys living upstairs had a boa constrictor. Let’s just say their room smelled less than fragrant and leave it at that! Another friend had an angora rabbit named Zack. It was adorable. He used to hold the rabbit while I trimmed its nails. You wouldn’t think a cute little bunny could kick like a prize winning bull, but you’d be wrong. I had the scratches to prove it.
So, have you ever had an unusual pet? Do tell.
Buy links for all my books can be found on my website. And if you enjoy reading about pets, you’re in luck. Each and every one of my books features my favorite kind, dogs!
14 comments:
Jannine, I LOVE your pet photos! I'll admit to being a lifelong cat person, but we did have a gerbil for a couple of years when my daughter was young. He was fun to watch zoom around the room in his ball, but he wasn't very cuddly - he was a biter.
Jannine, I couldn't resist the invitation to talk about my favorite pets, cats. I've had cat companions my whole life. Couldn't live without them. My latest cat is Killer, a fat black spoiled princess. Her picture is my avatar. When my son was little we bought two gerbils, having been assured they were both male. You guessed it, only one was male. We soon had litter after litter of little gerbils. That was fun until mom and dad gerbil started eating their young. Not so fun. I love your pet pictures.
Thanks for stopping by, ladies. You've both convinced me that there'll be no gerbils in my future. Biting and eating their young are not attractive qualities in a pet!
Needless to say, I LOVE your blog! All about dogs! Yes!
When getting older forced me to downsize, I rescued Buster the papillon. I was his fifth home, I think, if you count the times he went back to the breeder. I never knew that fifteen pounds of papillon (he's oversized) could be as much of a dog as an 80-pound Lab! But he is amazing.
He was emotionally withdrawn when I adopted him. Not housebroken, unable to ride in a car, and so very sad! Life is much better now, to say the least. It took almost a year before Buster came completely out of his shell and dared to love again. :-)
I'm a dog person and my favorite was Wokki, my Chow.
We found him roaming my sister's neighborhood after he'd been turned out by his owner, in favor of a new dog.
I can't tell you how amazing Wokki was. I used to leave him in the shade with my baby granddaughter while I did my yard work and he would guard her so carefully he wouldn't even allow a fly to land on her.
We was about twelve years old when we had to say goodbye to him.
Regina and Sandra,
So cool that both of you rescued dogs that had been deserted. I can't imagine how they must have felt after such tramatizing experiences. You gave them love - the best gift of all.
My kids have had all sorts of pets, except snakes. I couldn't sleep in a house with a snake in it. But my son watched a friend's hamster once while the family went on vacation. That didn't work out too well. My youngest which was around 4 at the time decided to play Barbies with the little thing. Let's just say that hamsters don't like to be dressed up...
The hamster probably liked playing dress-up about as much as our cat did! Too funny, Jerri.
Love your photo of Ginger. It made me smile as soon as I saw it. We lived in apartments when I was a child so dogs and sometimes cats weren't allowed. We did have gerbils, guinea pigs, and once, not for very long because my siblings and I were all too afraid of it, a white mouse named cheesecake.
Katherine, That photo of Ginger is one of my faves. Who says dogs can't smile! Cheesecake is a GREAT name for a mouse. I named a bull in my upcoming release Stud Muffin. Got to love food names with flair.
Hi Jeannine,
We got our dog Lou from a breeder, so she wasn't a rescue. But I feel like we rescued her. When we got her she had obviously just had puppies - once they were done breeding her they just wanted to get rid of her. Her tail was missing fur, and her coat was dull. She used to take a mouthfull of food and then run and hide, as if afraid someone was going to take it from her. We were told she lived outdoors with the rest of the breeder's huskies. But Lou was a 20 pound Pug/Terrier cross, not a big husky meant to withstand cold weather! After a few weeks, the hair on her tail grew back and her coat grew thick and shiny. She is our pampered princess and we adore her!
Jana
Hi Jannine,
I am not really a pet person, but my grown up son has a miniature pig as a pet.
Cheers
Margaret
Great photos! I'm opposite--grew up with dogs, but now own a cat-he's a sweetie. No exotic pets, but I cared for a long-haired guinea pig at the daycare I worked during college (he looked like Cousin It).
Jana, Glad you rescued Lou. Sounds like she needed your help.
Margaret, I bet that pig is cute!
Mariposa, Cousin It - a GREAT name for a furry pet. I'm gathering name ammunition for my next book. LOL
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