It’s Not a Home Without Pets

Animals draw me in. Their fur lures me toward them, wanting me to touch its softness. They listen patiently (usually), even to a young child. I know pets aren’t for everyone; those with allergies or phobias definitely won’t like this post. 

When I was young, my life goal was to be a farmer. I would be a steward of furry things, the bigger the better (yes, I wanted horses). Before having pets (which was a rather long time ago), I played with small plastic animals, setting up farm scenes and pretend-forests on the closet floor. My favourite plastic animal was a white heavy horse – a Shire, probably. My imaginary beast-magi was a palomino named Wild Gold. (I know, my knack of stating the obvious, or in this case, naming the obvious, started at a young age.)

I loved visiting a relative at my great-grandparents’ original farm near Hamilton. There were huge fields of corn hair wafting in the breeze, a defunct windmill, a drive-shed with its gaping doors, but the best thing was the gigantic red barn – a treasure trove for an imaginative girl from the city. There were mysterious rooms with closed doors, stalls in the bottom, and a hay loft that still had dried hay. And there was dust. Lots of dust. While the old folks visited, I gamboled in the barn, dreaming and wishing. As if in answer to my wish, a small black kitten emerged from the straw, mewing quietly. Of course I patted it. Of course it latched onto me as if it knew it belong at home with me. Of course, my begging and pleading (“I promise I’ll look after him and clean the litter box”). Of course my folks finally acquiesced. 

Phieffer

We had a few cats after that, including a stray my sister found who lived 17+ years with us. When I left home for university, a roommate and I adopted a cat in our first week there, an orange tabby named Bowie who eventually lived with other fellow-students. After marrying and starting a career, I lived in an apartment. We bought a rabbit, who nibbled our carpet and pooped under the

dining room table.

CJ

Then home ownership gave me a backyard for both the rabbit (Phieffer) and a Cocker Spaniel puppy named CJ. The rabbit escaped from his pen and figured out how to slink under the fence just like Peter Rabbit in Beatrix Potter’s story. He feasted on dandelions and frolicked in the yards around our house until he mysteriously disappeared. 

Kipper

After that dog left us and our hearts mended, we stopped in at a pet shop and found two rescue puppies ‘housed’ together. We couldn’t agree on which one to take home, so we adopted them both. Kipper and Kida were opposites, one eager to please and slightly neurotic; and the other aloof, and smart enough to cause neuroses. 

Kida

Kipper died and a few years later, my husband found online a litter of puppies that were just adorable. A small black fellow joined us and we spent days trying to agree on a name. After heated debates (‘we can’t call him that because it reminds me of a mean kid from grade one’ and ‘I can’t yell that name on a beach’), we decided on Odin. This adorable puppy, with his lolling tongue and eager expression, didn’t have the dignity of a Norse god but the sweet temperament of Garfield-the-Cat’s, so we called him Odie. 

Odie Puppy

Not long after that, we moved back east with Odie. Hubby had (unwisely in my opinion) said to Odie as we all climbed into the overly packed station-wagon for the trip across four provinces, “Do you want to go to the cottage?” The pup made the 3-day car ride staring out the front window of a jam-packed car. Every time we passed a body of water, he perked up as if he was sure he’d get to swim in THIS lake.

Puppy Pharrah

At a new place, my son declared he wanted a puppy (a girl to even the gender ratio). We found a puppy who seemed to be afraid of everything. When my son walked in with Pharrah in his arms, Odie had the excited look that said, “YOU BROUGHT ME A PUPPY!!!!!” Of course she was fearful of this big guy but he lay as small as he could possibly make himself and licked her reassuringly until she decided this place was safe. They have been best friends since then. 

Odie

Odie is going strong at 14. He’s mostly deaf, limps from a bum back leg, but loves walks and swims. He still bounces along, his long black fur swaying with each step. The now-grown Pharrah now looks after him. If Odie wanders when off-leash, we tell Pharrah ‘Go get Odie.’ She bounds after him then runs past, which causes him to turn and realize he’s going the wrong way.  

Pharrah

Pets – animals in general – bring out the best and the worst in us. Their semi-silent watchfulness can keep us honest and trigger us to laugh at ourselves. They often reveal our truest natures, whether we want that to or not. Pets are many things I’m not: patient, always happy, empathetic, and always loving. Many mornings I wake up and decide to be as good as my pets have been over the years. I’m still working on it…. ☺