Blog 92: In Memory of Tricky and Kate

   
By Constance Thornton (Guest Writer)

     As I read the blog discussing the humorous antics of Tricky the dog and Kate the cat, I smiled, as it brought back memories of other pets that I have known. 

     I have seen children and older folk alike interact with pets. Pets become companions, even friends to their owners.  

     I remember coming home from work one evening years ago to find my two youngest sons sitting on the front porch waiting for me to arrive. Sitting there between them was their dog, Butch.  The three of them had lollipops in their mouths.  We all went inside. As I was preparing dinner, I peeped into their room and observed "the Three Musketeers" watching Batman on the TV, Butch seemingly as involved in the show as the boys were.

     I have read stories and seen the abilities of pets to be anything to you that you need them to be.  They are companions for people who need company, protection for those in need of protection. I have often said that the only difference is that pets cannot talk.  They understand quite well.  They have emotions that they sometimes show even more than humans.  They are able to sense danger and are cautious when approaching people until they are sure that it's okay.

     My daughter had a two-month-old Lab which she adopted from a local shelter and she named him Ace. He was very playful and chubby. He ran a lot and looked like a fluffy orange ball.  

     The first time I met him, he was so busy running into the house, I guess he forgot to use the bathroom outside. He ran inside and tinkled under the dining room table.  He visited quite often and I grew to love him anyway.  I used to speak to him in "baby-talk", which he loved.  He would come running at the sound of my voice.   He had been so impulsive.  

     He had a female dog friend next door  named Rose.  She had a habit of running away from home and Ace left home with her.  However, Ace was back before sundown without Rose.  On one warm day, the children at Rose's house were cooling off in the pool when Ace, with my daughter in tow, ran through the fence and jumped in the pool!  

     He ignored my daughter's pleas for him to come back.  He had a way of ignoring you when there was something that he really wanted to do.

     Unfortunately, my daughter had to return the Lab to the shelter because they did not have the yard space that he required. After they returned home, I started watching the government channel that features the adoptable pets on TV.  Confused, I called the shelter and inquired as to why I had not seen Ace.

     After a few questions, I was informed that Ace had been put to sleep.  To my own surprise, I started screaming and crying.  My two grandchildren tried to keep me from seeing them laugh, they ran into the other room.  They talked and laughed about this for months to come.

     A friend once told me a story about her family's dog named "Fluffy".  Her story, I have to admit, I initially took with a grain of salt.  She crossed her heart that it was the truth. 
     She said her mother fried chicken every Sunday for dinner after church. She would place it in the oven until they returned to eat dinner. For about four times, they noticed exactly two pieces of chicken missing from the pan. They suspected the dog since no one else was home. On the other hand, they told themselves, "no, it couldn't be". The fifth Sunday someone stayed home and caught Fluffy red-handed – or “red-pawed,” I should say.

     Because I know of relationships with pets, I think it’s cute when I see people shopping for pet clothes that include coats, sweaters, shoes, hats etc. I smiled when I read my brother's obituary two years ago and at the very end was acknowledgement of his cat that he had for years. He was listed as one left to mourn my brother's passing. His name was Cat Banks, who  passed two months later; we feel from a broken heart.

     Thank God for pets, they mean so much to so many.