Hi umiat,
Thank you for the opportunity to write about one of my favorite
subjects. :)
Yes, animals are a great source of comfort to me. When I was growing
up I nagged my parents constantly about why we couldn't get a dog.
But, my dear Grandmother lived with us and she was allergic to many
things, including animal feathers and fur.
Other than going to the zoo, or having the next door neighbors' dog
mosey on over for a nose kiss I really had no personal knowledge of
how much animals meant to me. I truly wanted a pet, but it wasn't
going to be possible.
My parents did cave in and allowed me to have a goldfish in a bowl,
and that was the extent of my exposure to the animal world. :) So I
grew up petless.
If you don't mind I'm going to relate more than two specific stories.
After college I married and during those years we had many dogs and
cats.
I'll never forget Dear Abbie our white Sheepdog, coming home after one
of her escapades in the 'hood standing at the screen door proudly
displaying a bloody headless chicken hanging out of her mouth. Ack!
Or one time when Rocky the 200 pound Alaskan Malamute, decided he
wanted to join us on a car ride, and broke the 60 ft logging chain
which grabbed two recently planted trees as he galloped down the
street after us.
And the nightly routine when I'd make an attempt to check on my young
son while he lay sleeping peacefully in the arms of Morpheus. Upon
opening the door to his room I'd see my son's faithful companion,
Popeye the silver Toy Poodle, teeth bared and huge menacing growls
coming out deep from within his tiny body. Do NOT come near... dog
will take care of his human just fine, thank you very much. Close the
door and know everything in our world is normal - whatever normal is
when having a Poodle Protector.
But none of these animals were specifically mine, as they were part of
the family.
I do have times in my life when having a pet made an important
difference in my life, and during those times I was by myself.
About eight years ago, I was recently divorced and for the first time
in my long life living alone. Scary. I knew there were things I
finally needed to address regarding my past and I also knew this would
be a long process with many difficult days and nights. I really
didn't know if I had the emotional strength to meet the challenges
head on, however it had to be done - and it had to be done alone so I
could devote this time in my life just to me.
Shortly after moving into a garden apartment a friend of mine asked me
if I could temporarily help out by taking in the last remaining kitten
from a litter of 8. Just temporarily. (yeah, right!) :)
Of course, I said yes but temporarily was out of the question.
My friend came over with the kitty and my life changed instantly. I
named 'it' Blackie because it was very black (original, eh?) and we
bonded in a nano-second. Purring from it, and ooohhing and aaahing
from me. I fell deeply in love.
The next day I took it to the nearest vet for shots and a checkup.
Vet explained to me that it was a female because it had a dot and not
a comma - and she was as healthy as any kitten could be. So, she
became Ms. Blackie.
I have nothing dramatic that happened during our stay together, except
to say at times I questioned my sanity while dealing and healing from
the issues I was meeting head on. I can truly say Ms. Blackie kept me
from falling apart.
At times people and animals come into our lives which impact us
greatly, and this gentle black cat with the silky slinky body and the
biggest green eyes known to cat-hood, became my best friend during the
toughest time in my life.
I talked - she listened and meowed back. I cried and she lay on my
tummy and stared up at me knowingly about how much pain I was in. She
taught me how to play fetch with a cat, and she let me bathe her once
a week but I wasn't allowed to blow her dry - she had to air dry due
to her intense fear of the blow drier. She slept with me curled
around my head. I learned the reason for this particular spot and not
elsewhere on our king-sized bed, was because a cat will seek out the
warmest placed on their human. The head is warm.
Well... after about six month turns out the management of the comlex
where I was living changed ownership and a new rule was imposed upon
the tenants. NO ANIMALS allowed. No way, no how. None. No
exceptions.
So we moved. We moved from the suburbs to a nice older home in the
city, which had been converted to 10 apartments. We had the front
apartment and a wonderful large bay window with lots of sunlight and a
quiet street to look out onto. Ms. Blackie spent her days dozing on
the windowsill, warming in the sun.
After a while, I felt stronger both physically and emotionally and I
knew having her in my life was the glue that kept me intact. No words
can explain this. Only a knowing in my heart.
While living there, I became the human to animals, mammals, birds,
fish, and reptiles.
My zoo: a Giant Green Iguana I named Zeus, who grew to 6 feet long,
and a rare Forest Hingeback Tortoise named Diane. I had two cats, Ms
Blackie and The Heather - a tortoise shell colored ragdoll. Three 55
gallon aquarium tanks, two cockatiels named Kasey and Kelly, an
African Gray parrot I raised from an egg and named Sparky (short for
Spartacus), and three 55-gallon aquariums.
I also bought my first computer and decided to make my experiences
with the 'zoo' worthwhile in some way to the outside world. So, I
created my first website. Not just a website, mind you... but an
endeavor which eventually came to 250 pages printed out. The site
became quite popular and remained high for over six months on search
engine listings regarding information about animals, etc.
I was receiving up to 75 emails per day, many from children who asked
questions about their own animals, schools were referencing it for
their students, I was in a roadkill project, and won awards for design
and content.
One of the nicest things about having the animals and the site were
the friends I made, some who I remain in contact with to this day.
If I live another 60 years I'll never forget this incident with Zeus.
During the frigid winter, heat was distributed thoughout my apartment
by a radiator located underneath the bay window where Ms. Blackie and
Zeus liked to sunbathe. Fortunately the incident took place during
the spring and the radiator was turned off.
Zeus decided to crawl down from the windowsill where he sunbathed next
to Ms. Blackie and proceeded to get his large head lodged between two
fins on the radiator. Zeus was about four feet long and definitely
stuck.
Much panic on both our parts. He was terrified and I was horrified!
I had no ideas on what to do. You can't call the fire dept. to come
and rescue an Iguana! I phoned the store where I had purchased Zeus
and frantically relayed the story hoping someone who knew reptile
behavior would have a clue.
Of course no one had ever heard of anything like this happening!
However, it was suggested to try globs of Vaseline greased up along
the sides of his head and along the fins of the radiator. Finally he
was freed. Neither of us were the same ever again.
I now am owned by two Miniature Poodles. The infamous Prince and
Jack!
What can I say? Well... both dogs hog the covers at night, Prince
likes to make human noises while playing his game of keepaway, and
Jack usually has a stuffy in his mouth when he's not gazing at you
with a silly smile. Again, no words can express my love and gratitude
for being so blessed.
In closing may I quote a few of the words from the 1972 film "Home",
written by screenwriter Ted Perry:
"What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man
would die from a great lonliness of spirit. For whatever happens to
the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected."
I'm a firm believer that the reason humans were put upon this earth
was to take care of the animals.
Research used: my experience!
Best regards,
tlspiegel
Google Answers Researcher |
