Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot

 

Some time ago I made a list of the pets we had at Loop Drive over the years. Here it is.

1.Spotty (D-Terrier)
2.Fang (D-Poodle)
3.Fancy (D-Poodle)
4. Suzette (D-Poodle)
5. Lance Link (D)
6. Sheba (D-Doberman)
7. Polly (D)
8. Henri (Ornery H.) (D-Poodle)
9. Puss-Puss (C)
10. Rosemary (C)
11.Belladonna (C)
12. Merry (C?)
13. Pippin (C?)
14. Hickory (D-Chihuahua)
15. Bitsy (D-Chihuahua)
16. Polo (D-Chihuahua)
17. Petey (D-Chihuahua)
18. Ginger (D-Chihuahua)
19. Snap (D-Chihuahua)
20. Rocky (D-Rottweiler)
21. Baby (D-Chow)
22. Millie Chee (D-Boxer)
23. Minnie Chee (D-Pug)
24. Nippy (D)
25. Flea (D)
26.Kitty Kohn (C)
27. Smokey (C)
28. Fleafur (C)
29. Hoofer-poot (C)
30. Adolph Hamster
31. Blinky the Owl
32. Grimace the Duck

33. Blueboy the Parrot

34. Sylvester (C)

35. Fala (D)

Armadillos, 2 deer, a possum, a raccoon, a few squirrels, numerous snakes, fish, crawdads, gerbils, hamsters, a grackle, and a baby mockingbird.

That early run of poodles represented the by-products of Pat's Poodles, a little side-hustle that Nanny had Mom run for her. Spotty lasted an amazingly long time, from before I was in first grade until I was into college. Sheba was the one dog that was ever mine; she went to "live on Uncle David's farm". Rosemary was a cat I got from Mrs. Harris, my 4th Grade teacher; Belladonna was her daughter. Nippy and Flea were Millie's half-breed offspring. That run of Chihuahuas turned out to be the perfect dogs for Mom when she was grounded by her arthritis, being the right size to snuggle up next to her in her recliner. Pop's backyard garden had the dubious honor of being our pet graveyard (around the far edges); it was also the site where the enormous Rocky, when he passed, had first a burial mound and then a pyre, going to Doggie Heaven in a particularly Viking way. Sometimes I wonder if the present occupants of Loop Drive are ever haunted by our past animals.