31 Days To Write The Story Of Your Family - Day 25: Family Pets

31 Days to Write the Story of Your Family

Day 25: Family Pets

Growing up, I didn't have any pets at all until I was about 12 years old.  I had begged and begged my parents for a dog for the longest time, and they finally got me one at about the same time as my sister was born.  She came with the name Cookie and we did not change it.  She was a black cocker spaniel mix and we never knew what her exact age was.  She was full-grown and house-trained when my Dad brought her home, but that was it as far as her training.  She was also not spayed, but my parents took care of that very soon.  She loved going for walks, even though most of the time she choked herself from pulling too hard on the leash.  I also loved taking her for walks.  My Dad ran a clothesline from our house to our big tree in the backyard and we attached a leash to it so that she would have the run of the backyard.  When she was young, she was a very fast runner.  With toddlers in the house, the door was left open way too often and she took full advantage of that.  I can't tell you how many times my brother and I ran through the neighborhood trying to find her when she was on one of her "adventures."  She liked to sit by the screen door or stand at the window to see who was walking by outside.  And then she'd bark at them - we always knew when someone was out there.

Our dog Cookie, about 1998 when she was first starting to go grey

I didn't have a lot of friends through high school, but she was always there for me.  She lived a very long time - I was probably in my late 20s when she finally passed away.  I still miss her a lot and haven't gotten another dog since then.

My husband grew up with dogs, but when we bought our first house, we knew we couldn't get a dog because of the long hours we both worked.  So, we decided to adopt a couple of cats.  (We wanted to get two so they wouldn't be lonely during the day when we were gone.)  We went to the local shelter and found two young adult cats that the volunteers there had labeled as 'friends.'  They were pretty affectionate towards us, so we took them home.  We named the black one 'Josie' and the orange tabby 'Lucy.'  They are still alive and kicking, although they have slowed down a bit over the years.  They are still 'lap cats' and also love sleeping on our bed at night.  Both are very good with the kids and put up with a lot of tail-pulling and face-poking.

Josie and Lucy on one of the afghans I knitted.

About a year ago, we also got a guinea pig!  She is all white, so on the way home from the pet store, my son named her 'Marshmallow.'  

Marshmallow the guinea pig