I was thinking about the animals in my life the other day. It could have been something to do with Blue the Moonbase Mutt staring into my eyes, waiting for his Pedigree Chum!
The first true pet memory I have are of my parent's old dog Shandy. Shandy was a lovely mutt, very cute and friendly. I don't recall her being taken out for walks but she did have the run of a big garden. I have a vivid memory of her having pups but I've no idea where they went. She died in 1978 I think. Shortly after my Dad sold our parental home and family life as I knew it ended forever. I think Shandy missed my Mum too much. Somewhere I've a few snaps of her.
I have a vague memory of tortoises and fish too. There were tortoises everywhere back in the Sixties. Preston was like the Galapagos with hard-shelled critters shambling allover the shop. Some had things painted on their shells in white paint. House numbers were popular because the tortoises were forever wandering off.
Fish were everywhere too. I had a tank full. I think it was my Parents' attempt to teach me about responsibility. I remember the little card pot of eggs that I sprinkled on top of the water. There were very fishy multi-coloured flakes too. The card pots were yellow but the brand name has swum.
Fish names abound in my head from back them: guppies, shubunkins, neon tetras, japanese fighting fish. It was an artform keeping them. Even goldfish were tricky.
I failed my fish eventually. The tank got stagnant and the fish went furry. I would look after them much better now.
My brothers had pigeons. They built a large outdoor aviary with our Dad. One of the birds was called Betty, a chocolate racer I seemed to remember. I never bothered with the pigeons. One day the aviary was burned down. I've no idea who did that.
Despite miner birds being popular with neighbours, mimicking what folk said, my parents didn't have any indoor birds. I once rescued a sparrow, which had got trapped in the kitchen cavity wall. I called it Spadge and looked after it for about a week, chopping worms up. Alas it sadly died and I remember being gutted. I think I was about 15.
I've had pets as an adult but that's about it as a kid.
Did you have any pets or rescued animals readers?
Hamster, then cat, then horse. They were steadily increasing in mass but the pattern is now broken by getting a small dog!
ReplyDeleteHa ha. The fizzicists pets! Sounds like a theoreom!
DeleteWhen I was little we had a grey and white cat called Sindy Loo, she later had four kittens, Amanda (fluffy grey and white) and Smokey (short haired grey) were the girls, white Whiskers (short haired grey and white) and Sooty (black and white) were the boys. As my grandmother was getting unsteady on her feet we did not have any more cats after that. Did feed the odd stray. In later years there was Sylvester Junior, black and white, perhaps a Maine Coon, who adopted us, and was with us for five years. He had the softest fur ever, and was very intelligent. Finally Ceefer (silly name, for which I am not responsible) pure black. No pets at the moment, as I could not look after them properly as I work. Never had a dog or birds. Did live in a house with a fish pond for a time, but someone took all the fish. That is it. Love cats.
ReplyDeleteYou sure do Paul! I have never lived with cats. I bet you miss those moggies.
DeleteIts the Yorkshire breed Kid! Ha ha. My typo!
DeleteMiner bird? Is that the same thing as a Mynah bird, or one that works down a coal mine, Woodsy? We need to be told.
ReplyDeleteReplied above it! Im half asleep with a baby on a sofa.
DeleteWhen I was a kid, I had a budgie who lived until I was 15. Much later we adopted a stray cat who we called Hattie. She came with three unknown [at the time] passengers! Two of which, my brother and I actually delivered, as the poor lady had been in labour for eight hours by this point and was exhausted.
ReplyDeleteHowever, all three kittens and Hattie survived the experience and the two 'Queens' went to live on a farm, and the Tom, we kept. He was a beautiful creature, and must have been part Maine Coon, as he was absolutely enormous, and a stone in weight. He was also the most gentle and loving creature I have ever known, he even used to try and comfort me when I was recovering from some major surgery.
After he passed away aged nearly 15, we adopted a rescue kitten who was nowhere near as confident as his predecessor, but he was also very loving and my wife taught him to play fetch. Sadly he only lived to 9 years, and it was a shock when he died.
The current cat we have is called Ralph, and was adopted again as a rescue kitten, but this one really picked us. When we met him, we were unsure about adopting him as we were looking for a Tabby, but this Black and White Tom, decided he was coming home with us! He managed to push his pen door open and was following us home. He's three years old now and has carried on as he started out, a very determined individual.
Although he has a temper on him, we have brought him up to be loving and rewarded kind behavour. We certainly wouldn't change him for the world, and just like our last one, he plays fetch, and often brings us his toys as 'offerings'.
Before Covid-19 hit the world, we used to let him out, and I really don't know how he used to do this, but our garden would be filled with cats from the neighbourhood! - And Ralph would be there almost as if he was holding court with them, I've never seen anything like it. Of course once Covid hit, we kept him indoors permanently. Initially he protested, as he wanted to play with all his mates, but he soon got it that he couldn't go out and has accepted it.
Like the first Tom we had, Ralph is a really big cat, weighing in at over three quarters of a stone. He's a magnificent looking animal with a white blaze on his forehead and a white Zorro style moustache. And of course we love him to bits...
You love your fats too Bill! Its obvious from your wonderful descriptions. Ralph sounds like more than a cat!
ReplyDeleteFats? Cats! My fat finger!
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