Figuring out what I wanna be when I grow up.
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Friday, August 17, 2012

How To Get A Dog

We had a lot of pets when we were kids.  Seriously?  I don't know how my mother put up with it.  We've had geese, ducks, rabbits, guppies, budgies, a hamster, two cats and two dogs.  No, we didn't live on a farm.

Like I said:  I don't know how my mother could stand it.

One one side of the shed in our back yard, there was a little house and fenced off "run" for the ducks and the geese.  They even had their own in-ground swimming pool.  My brother had dug a small hole, and sunk in a plastic kiddie pool.

Do you know anything about ducks and geese?  Yes, then you know that they crap CONSTANTLY.  That pool reeked, and was slime green within a day.  Teenage brother didn't haul that thing up out of the ground and give it a scrub as often as he should have.

On the other side of the shed we had a rabbit hutch, with a little indoor "apartment" for them to sleep.  The outdoor hutch was built on to the side of the shed, and suspended above the ground, with the idea being the rabbits would poop and it would fall through the grate of the outdoor part.  They were dum-dums though, and they pooped in their indoor sleeping area.  Shoveling that out sucked large.

Our dog Spookie, was a mixed breed, but supposedly he was predominately Terrier-Poodle. We had him when my brother and I were young.  My sister, who is six years younger than I am, and 11 years younger than our brother, only knew that dog when she was a really little kid.  She freaking loved that dog.

She wouldn't leave poor Spook alone.  She was constantly hauling him up onto the couch and wrapping him in a blankie.  I can still remember that long-suffering look he'd get on his face as he was trapped there on the chair beside her, wrapped in her abundant, clumsy, preschooler love.  The look said; "Please.  SAVE ME."

Then, certain events transpired, and time passed, and we had NO pets.  My sister WANTED a dog.  She loved dogs.  She watched those Humane Society programs all the time about abused and abandoned dogs.  She'd cry and cry, but she wouldn't stop watching them.

She read THIS BOOK all the time:




She wanted a dog.  BAD.

Me?  I was always more of a CAT PERSON.  Dogs yapped too much, and they stuffed their snouts in your crotch or butt.  Most of my friends had a dog that was obnoxious:  you couldn't pet them because they were "grumpy," and might bite you.

My cat,  named "Kitty" (yes, very original) came to us a stray when I was about 13.  She was my girl!

(THAT'S RIGHT, DAMN IT--YOU'RE GONNA LOOK AT SOME PHOTIES OF MY CAT, AND YOU'RE GONNA LIKE IT)














look at the priceless look of horror on my Mom's face.
She was a little leery of cats ever since she was a kid and
psycho neighbourhood cat from hell leapt out of a bush
and latched onto her arm.  With its teeth.



RIP Kitty!  SNIFF!

My sister was an animal lover, so she loved Kitty too, but she loved dogs best of all.  And when my sister wants something, she will have it.  Oh yes, she will. But, my Mom didn't want any more pets.  We'd had some bad things happen to our pets, and Mom didn't want to go through any more heartache.  But Aim still frigging wanted that dog.

So, she wrote a letter to my Mom and Dad.  She wrote THE  MOST MELODRAMATIC, RIDICULOUS, OVER THE TOP PLEA FOR A DOG that you have ever read.

Here--see for yourself:


Dear Mom + Dad...

In this note or letter I am speaking my mind.  If only you knew what I am going through.  You probably don't even know the pain I am in for the fact I probably will never get a dog.

If only you could imagin [sic] how HAPPY I would be if I did get a dog!

You probably are getting sick of all this dog bussiness [sic] but you see its just one of those things.

Everyone remembers Spooky but I can't remember much.  I want a dog to remember.  O won't you please give me a chance! I know this letter may seem sad, but that's how I'm feeling.

Shouldn't every child have a true companion.  It would make me soooo happy.  

Please, just imagin me happily running along with a dog.

If they say dreams can come true.

Shouldn't mine?

Please just say you will SERIOUSLY think about it.

A dog is a child's best friend.

P.S. I could not have said these things in person because it would only make me more upset.  Trust me.  You won't regret it. 



Classic.

Well, she got her dog!  Woody was a purebred Shetland Sheepdog from a real frou-frou dog breeder and everything.    And yeah, he was yappy and never stopped barking when someone would visit.  And yeah, he was obnoxious and would stuff his snout in your butt.  He also liked to suck on sucks, and my dad wasn't too pleased one morning when he stuck his foot into his sopping work sock.

He'd snack on the occasional cat turd from the litter box, and the evidence would be on his breath.  He'd wolf down the cat's food when we turned our backs.  He'd dance around Kitty with delight, pestering her and trying to play with her as she sat replete with annoyance and hissing like mad.  But he'd scratch at the door to tell us when she wanted to come inside, and even though she was mostly disapproving, that Cat actually liked him, and though she'd give him the odd swat, she never had her claws out when she did it.

He was Woody.  He was "hooney."  He was "dogga."  He let us grab and smooch that snout.  He slept on my sister's bed with her.  He followed Dad out into the yard every day and hung out with him.  He sniffed every twig, tree and fire hydrant to death when he went for a walk.  He'd get burrs stuck in the fluffy fur of his back legs.




new puppy comes home!













they're on MY bed, with his leg thrown over MY teddy bear.








He was a good, good boy, and he lived to be nearly 16.  I'm still not a dog person, but I definitely was a Woody person. 



49 comments:

  1. Lovely photos. Animals are indeed human's best friend. So... when are you introducing a new pet to your family?

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    1. ha! NOT, Tanner. I'm NOT. I have two kitties right now, and that's plenty!

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    2. You got all my hopes up. I thought this post would be followed "and please welcome our new pets, the 12 dogs of Christmas!"

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    3. the 12 dogs of Christmas! Snort! Oh, you've tickled me with that one. Oh well, stranger things have happened I suppose!

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  2. I am a cat person too. Thanks for forcing us to look at kitty's pictures.

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  3. thanks for looking Dazee! Good old kitty. She'd love you one minute and scratch you the next. Aw, memories.

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  4. I'm a cat person who married a person who's allergic to cats and is a dog person, but a BIG dog person not a cute widdle dog person, so we just have a guinea pig and some fish.

    Happy weekend to you!

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    1. oh guinea pigs are fun! And they make cute, squeaky noises!

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  5. we have several pets and i can safely say the cat is the most spoiled of them all

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  6. It's a pet day here in Blogland! Which is fine by me, I love to see kitty pics and cute puppy dog pics, and pics of Young Karen and her sister!
    I know what you mean, I am not a dog person, but I like individual dogs, if they are cute and well behaved.
    Whereas I like all cats, even if they bite me or hiss or are old and scraggy looking. I am the person at the cat shelter who would happily take the old, infirm and troublesome ones... But I am not allowed any more, I've been told.
    I told the old man they are a damn sight less trouble than 3 kids and could we trade one, or even a couple of kids for another cat, but he won't have it. Humph! xxxxxxx

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  7. See, my daughter wants a dog in the worst way and I just can't handle it right now. I finally caved and told her, her brother was allergic (he's not) just so she could get off my back. So now they settle for playing with the 2 year old calling her "fluffy" and making her bark like a dog.

    Yeah, I already know I'm messing my kids up.....

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  8. KAREN!!!!!!! You just KILLED me with this post...i am at work for f**ks sake!!! here I am crying over this....the Pics of Kitty, the pics of Woody...the pics of your mom...and pics of my bestie when she was young....i will comment more on this later....after I stop cry AT WORK!!!

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    1. Aw, sorry Steph! It's true: it ended up being more and more sentimental as I went along.

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  9. Aw DUDE.... this post nearly ruined me. Nearly but then I held on because remember... I AM a zombie now. Or.. mildly zombie. hehehe. I loved that dog. And thanks to you for wanting that Woody picture and me giving it up via online .. I then became OBSESSED with needing the original and was tearing my house apart looking for it. arg. No luck yet. LOL May just have to send it in to be reprinted.

    Hey! That one pic of me.. I'm wearing my Pantera shirt! LOL Back when I thought HEAVY METAL was the SHIT.. now it just gives me a headache and hurts my ears. hehehe.

    Woody and kitty... were so marvelous. Especially Woody.
    Me? I was super lame.... stupidly..... lame. But kudos to me for getting what I want in life! hehe

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    1. good old Pantera shirt! You've got it in the house somewhere. Is it in your tv cabinet?

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  10. Oh btw.. notice the common theme? We're all laying around! People might look at those pics and think, "Did their mother ever leave the couch?" LOL

    And I still have that bed of mine.. and those sheets too!!!!!!!!!! They're Lily's now.

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    1. yes!! I laughed too thinking it look like all we did was lounge around.

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  11. I love that last picture of Woody! And Kitty was very lovely, as well.

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    1. thank you! My sis took that last pic. I accosted her to find the damn thing for me, because I had it stuck in my brain.

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  12. I love seeing old pet photos. Kitty and Woody were both lovely.
    I am a cat person to.

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  13. Memories, I love it! Spook and Kitty and Woody! Your brother lovingly told me that Spook smelled, but I thought he was cute. As for Kitty, she was feisty! She never bit me though, not even when I removed her claw from the carpet, as she growled. Remember that, hee-hee? And Woody was the sweetest dog ever!

    Andrea

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    1. Oh yes, And! I also remember (forever) you rescuing the little snake from Kitty. It even had little cat fang punctures in it. Poor little green snake.

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  14. I am a cat person. I am allergic to dogs and cats. I do have a cat, but since I was diagnosed, my husband says no more cats in the house. But, there's always outside, right?

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    1. Ruth, aren't there any cats who don't shed nearly as much? Or, is there always that cat dander to contend with?

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    2. It's more the dander. If I just had one and it was short hair maybe. I may have to work on the mister. Hopefully that will be a long time from now. Though Lacey is 13 :(

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  15. Awwwwwww! I am so a dog person. I like cats, but can't handle the litter box thing.

    So, "And yeah, he was obnoxious and would stuff his snout in your butt"

    My dad's wife has a Labradoodle (sp?). It's HUGE, and wooly, and it has the BIGGEST nose I have ever seen. And I discovered the hard way wearing a skirt around him is a bad, bad idea, because he will jam that big ole nose right up there. Anyway, her dad had Alzheimer's. One of the last lucid things I remember him saying was "I taught him how to do that!" when the dog shoved his nose up the neighbor's skirt and right in her butt. I laughed until I cried over that one. His wife was horrified, but he looked so darned pleased with himself, how could I NOT laugh?

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    1. Vesta, litter boxes are so disgusting, it is almost worth never having another cat again because of them. There. I said it. The ugly truth. Anyhoo, that is a very funny story about the poor gentleman with Alzheimers.

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  16. I am a cat person too. Right now we are down to just one cat and I must say he is the perfect cat who acts like a dog. He cries to go out or in. I love that cats can be low maintenance. I am sorry to say but we got rid of the dog, he went to a cousin's house where he get long walks in the park and gets to sleep with the kids and is allowed on the furniture. He was just too big for my kids to handle and no one wanted to help mom and dad take care of him. The only thing I do not like about cats are their claws. They can ruin furniture and doors and floors. Oh well, I still think we need another cat around here.

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    1. You're right Alaina: pets are very destructive! That's a happy ending for the doggie though, don't you think?

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  17. I thought I was a cat person, until I met Boyfriend. Don't get me wrong. His cats are wonderful, adorable, sweet, and lovely. The issue is that he has two of them. After Katrina, I ended up with three. We're a Brady Bunch of, holy crap, are we hoarders?

    All of them are over 10 years old. All 5 cats.

    There is also a dog, who thinks she's a cat.

    I love pets. Once these ones are gone, I don't think I'll ever get another one.

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    1. I love the kitties, Leauxra, but I think I'll be done once they're gone. You have a house full of furry love!!

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  18. it was obviously pet day on blogger the other day - every post has been adorable. Cat spooning? I love it, I had a cat that liked to be cuddled. I also had another cat that loved the dogs but pretended he hated them. It's too heartbreaking when pets die. Woody is flippin' gorgeous, what a darling, you would definitely want to squeeze him

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    1. that's funny, isn't it Clare? It's because we all share one collective brain here in the world. I know you love your doggies--you're so good to them!

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  19. We had a cat for 20 years, and boy did I love him.I never thought I would love a dog but our huge great dane mix, is my shadow and looks at me with adoring eyes, how could I not become a dog lover.

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    1. that's nice, Paula! I was wondering how you'd been getting on with your dog, since you seemed a little dubious at first.

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  20. I, on the other hand, am a dog person, and Woody was one lovely dog.

    RHE

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    1. Indeed. Bandit the border collie. I shall send you a picture. (He doesn't want his photo circulated too widely -- he's doesn't like being recognized in public.)

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    2. And then, right after I said that, he put his picture up on my FB page. I think it was the Susan Orleans biography of Rin Tin Tin he read: now he's gone all Hollywood.

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  21. I remember Spook, he was anorexic in his later years wasn't he? I am a dog person but we have a kitten too. None of our pets bite like the cocker spaniel I grew up with. I adored her but damn she was a bitch that way. Our pugs hang with the boys and their friends, sleep with them during sleepovers and come along to football practice. I love that for the kids.

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    1. Lisa, you are a serious dog enthusiast--anyone can see how loving and good you are to your pugs. OH, I remember your cocker spaniel--did she ever bite you?

      Spook had seizures every now and then, and was probably just skinny due to bad health. Poor thing.

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  22. i had a sheltie as a kid too. he would nibble our knuckles and let me suck on his ears. because sucking on a dog's softie little ears when you're four years old is totally normal.

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    1. Sherilinnie, only you would suck on your doggie's ears. Still, they are so velvety soft, aren't they???

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    2. soft AND delicious! i just wanted to rub their velvety goodness between my lips til i drooled.

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  23. We always had a menagerie of pets when I was growing up and my Parents continued to have fur babies after all us kids grew up... I'm sure the pets were easier to raise than we were anyway. *Winks* As an Adult I always chose to have Cats... or well, I should say the Cats chose to have us, we never picked one out, they just show up and somehow some manage to become part of the Family by endearing themselves to us. I did get some Budgies when my Oldest was little & we lived somewhere that only allowed "Feathers or Fins"... Good Lord Budgies are messy... that was the end of the brief Budgie infatuation. The kids always won those Goldfish at the Carnival that you think will last 5 minutes and years later you're giving them a burial in the yard because they were too gargantuan to flush down the toilet in a semi-Vikings-Funeral recreation. *Winks* I enjoyed hearing about all of your Beloved Fur Babies and seeing the precious Images. I'm still missing my longest Love Affair with a Fur Baby... my Cat Rat Boy was with us 20 years and passed last year, she Adored me, maybe that's why I was partial, I dunno... what do you think? *Smiles*

    Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian

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    1. 20! Dawn, that's amazing! And you're right: the budgies were extremely messy! Ah, but we love our pets. So true about cats FINDING US. That's what my girl Kitty did.

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