Pets

More about the big house

Another cool thing about living on the children's home campus, was the opportunity for pets!  With the huge back yard and acreage on and around the campus, it was a small bit of the country in the midst of the almost-inner-city surrounding area. 

We had a dog when we moved in; a dachshund named Lady Gertrude (Trudy for short).  Trudy was the victim of her ability to roam free on the children's home grounds and probably got ahold of some rat poisoning. This was my first experience with loss, but the beginning of a small stream of other pets.

I don't know when we got our cat, Mittens, who was mean and enormous  and liked to have diarrhea in the middle of my bed.  He probably did this as a punishment for my dressing him up in doll clothing occasionally.  The house was set up in a big circle; enter, through the living room ,kitchen, right into the dining room another through a guest room, through  the family room and back where you began.  You could also go past the stairs and straight into the dining room.  The dining room floor was warped, forming little bumpy hills.

Which brings us to yet another dog.  We got a toy rat terrier who was a retired  show dog.  Her poor little legs had been broken and were crooked, keeping her from being shown.  Her name was Tina and she was a third of the size of Mittens the cat.    Usually dogs chase cats, but in this case, nervous hyper little Tina liked to provoke Mittens (large mean slow cat) to chase her through the house.  Once she had annoyed Mittens enough, a chase would ensue around the circle of rooms.  Just as the chase was at it's height, Tina would abruptly change directions and Mittens would scramble to get his big old self to follow.  Usually what happened was a failed attempt to get a grip on the floor and he would sail across the dining room and over the mogul-sized bumps on the linoleum and splat against the wall.  Tina would stand by watching the spectacle.  Mittens would shake himself and walk away with a look of " meant to do that" on his face. 

Tina lasted a while.  Long enough for me to enjoy lowering her slowly into the snow and watch her frantically dog paddle before she hit the top layer. Probably a lot of dogs do this, but I thought it was pretty funny. 

I don't know what order they came in , but for awhile we seemed to go through dogs the was other people go through hamsters.  There was Toby, a beagle, who I don't really remember.  There was Macgregor, a Scottie,  (I think) who was a champion at running away.  My dad looked for him at first, but after awhile I think he got fed up and said good riddance. 

Some of our pets had come and gone prior to the big house.  I never knew my sister's first pet whose name was Uruh because my parents ask me sister what to name him.  Being maybe one year old she pointed and said a noise sounding like Uruh.  I don't know what became of Uruh, but I am guessing that it was a blessing to no longer have to stand and the porch and yell "Here, Uruh". 

At one point we had hamsters until one of them had babies which she promptly chewed up like a carnivorous little cannibal.  When my mom opened the cage to feed them and a disembodied head fell out, the were gone.

We had a cat named Puddy who climbed into the car manifold (or something like that) and when my dad started the car...Well, I'm thinking it wasn't pretty 

We had a pretty little Siamese cat named Sammy.  My mom and I witnessed our neighbor back out of her driveway and send the cat flying through the air.  I remember her landing with her legs in the air and writhing and yowling until she final kicked the bucket.  My mom and I spent the day crying until my dad got home and said "For Pete's sake! I thought something had happened to Beth the way you were carrying on"  Maybe it was a little over the top, but the whole 'back attack" thing was pretty traumatic!

Back to the big house. We had a fish tank briefly, too, but it sprang a leak and the fish got flushed.

We finally had one successful pet which was the unlikeliest and most unusual pet of all. 

I think I will leave you hanging, now and let you wonder what the heck came next.