We always had a menagerie at our house, with anywhere from one to three dogs, two to over a dozen cats, and various fish and reptiles to fill out the collection. Someone else kept horses and cows in the field, so the place had the illusion of being a working farm. Since the fences were all falling over, I spent a good deal of my life walking down the middle of State Route 286 in my nightgown at midnight carrying a bucket of corn calling, “Come on cow; stupid cow; let’s get out of the middle of the road cow” to the animal whose halter I was pulling. … Read the rest
Category Archives: Pets
We had hamsters growing up. My parents allowed them because I was frantic in wanting a puppy when we already had two grown dogs and didn’t need another. I called my first hamster Olga-Da-Polga, and my sister called hers Frisky. Olga, named for a guinea pig in a book I’d read, was white with gray spots and a mousy little face. Frisky was of a variety called “golden”, though to us he seemed more tan in color. He earned his name by being a spastically active creature. Indeed, Frisky’s friskiness taught us several of our early lessons in rodent care.
Lesson 1: Tape the ball shut.… Read the rest