{"id":849,"date":"2018-08-15T10:58:42","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T15:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loosestringsfromthepast.com\/?p=849"},"modified":"2018-08-15T10:58:42","modified_gmt":"2018-08-15T15:58:42","slug":"furry-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loosestringsfromthepast.com\/?p=849","title":{"rendered":"FURRY FRIENDS"},"content":{"rendered":"

When our Weimaraner, Babe, was nearing the end of her life, Ken said, \u201cWe don\u2019t need another dog.\u201d\u00a0 I did not say anything.\u00a0 As Babe continued to decline, Ken again said, \u201cWe don\u2019t need another dog.\u201d\u00a0 I didn\u2019t say anything.\u00a0 When the vet told us she possibly had six to eight more weeks to live, Ken said, \u201cI don\u2019t think we will get another dog.\u201d\u00a0 I made eye contact with him and quietly said, \u201cI cannot remember a time I did not have a dog.\u201d\u00a0 He got the point.<\/p>\n

The first dog I actually remember was a small dog named Susie.\u00a0 She was run over by the milk delivery truck.\u00a0 Several more dogs were around during my preschool years.\u00a0 When I was in elementary school, one of my uncles gave me a white Chow named Pal.\u00a0 His tail curled over his back.\u00a0 This gave him extra charm.\u00a0 He was my companion until I graduated high school.<\/p>\n

The dairy was on U.S. Highway 183.\u00a0 Pal seemed to instinctively know to stay back from the highway.\u00a0 He walked down the drive with me to the school bus stop every morning.\u00a0 The bus stopped across the highway.\u00a0 Pal stopped well back and watched until I boarded the bus.\u00a0 He greeted me every afternoon when I returned.<\/p>\n

He was old and ill during my senior year of high school.\u00a0 My father gently suggested it might be time to consider euthanizing him.\u00a0 I could not bring myself to agree.\u00a0 I went to college in the fall of 1953.\u00a0 Pal did not greet me on my first trip back home.\u00a0 I knew he was gone.<\/p>\n

A stray calico cat appeared one day.\u00a0 I aptly named her Calico.\u00a0 She had a litter of kittens.\u00a0 A predator killed all but one.\u00a0 The survivor was left with only a stub for a tail.\u00a0 I named the bobtailed kitten Bob.<\/p>\n

There was a picket fence around our yard.\u00a0 The tops of the pickets were flat.\u00a0 As a kitten, Bob entertained himself by walking on top of the pickets.\u00a0 He would follow me as I walked in front of him.\u00a0 This kept the cat and I occupied for hours.<\/p>\n

I had two white rabbits.\u00a0 I assume I went with my Dad to the feed store, saw the cute bunnies, and wanted them.\u00a0 I named the female Pinkie and the male Budgie.\u00a0 They lived in a hutch in the pasture behind the house.\u00a0 There were several oak trees to provide shade for the hutch.\u00a0 They fared well in cold weather with their fur coats.\u00a0 Hot weather was another matter.\u00a0 I helped them stay cool by sneaking them into the house.\u00a0 I had been told they were not allowed in the house.\u00a0 This was a clandestine operation.\u00a0 My first clue that it was not secret came when my mother told me to take them back to the hutch.<\/p>\n

The rabbits eluded me when I tried to catch them.\u00a0 This was a game as I was in no hurry to catch them.\u00a0 They would hide behind furniture.\u00a0 They often ran under a bed.\u00a0 I would get a broom, lie on my stomach, and use the broom to drag them toward me.\u00a0 Budgie was more difficult to catch than Pinkie.\u00a0 He would thump a back foot.\u00a0 I thought this was funny.\u00a0 My giggles gave him time to move and thump again.<\/p>\n

My brother\u2019s straw hats and work boots were often on the floor of the screened front porch.\u00a0 The rabbits scalloped the edges of the hats and the tops of the boots.\u00a0 He thought it was funny.\u00a0 It was not funny when they gnawed on lamp cords.<\/p>\n

They eventually were given to the children of a milk customer.<\/p>\n

I have already written about my horses.\u00a0 My high school years brought more extracurricular activities and less riding time.\u00a0 My cowgirl days ended by the time I graduated.<\/p>\n

These are our current furry friends.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Miss Kitty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Gray<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Radar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When our Weimaraner, Babe, was nearing the end of her life, Ken said, “We don’t need another dog.”  I did not say anything.  As Babe continued to decline, Ken again said, “We don’t need another dog.”  I didn’t say anything.  When the vet told us she possibly had six to eight more weeks to live, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[244,246,243,245],"class_list":["post-849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-early-days-to-1955","tag-cat","tag-childhood-pets","tag-dogs","tag-rabbits"],"yoast_head":"\nFURRY FRIENDS - Loose Strings From The Past<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/loosestringsfromthepast.com\/?p=849\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FURRY FRIENDS - 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