This is Frank. He is a very affectionate mini dachshund . I call him my ‘grand-fur baby’, as he belongs to my future daughter-in-law. He is gorgeous. But then I’m a sucker for pets; especially cute dogs.
I grew up in a family that always kept pets. We had both dogs and cats, chickens, guinea pigs, budgies and a cow. The latter was kept so we had milk, the chickens for eggs and the rest were just pets. I can recall many days feeding one pet or many as a daily chore.
It seemed natural when I started married life to keep pets. First came the kitten, rescued from the storeroom of my workplace. Then came the pup that was to go to work with my tradie husband. Later on, when our children came along I got my first little, fluffy, white dog. Then, for reasons forgotten, we added Spiky the pet white rat… then a cockatiel, followed by a chicken.
Before children, my husband and I travelled Australia for 6 months. My parents would pet-sit for us. But first, we had to relocate 2 dogs and a cat 4,600 kilometres. That meant a 3 day journey in summer heat by road in a wagon that was not air conditioned. Can you imagine? The back seat was down, as were the windows. The cat was sedated and lay in her basket, shoulder to shoulder with 2 dogs sprawled across the seat, also catching the breeze.
Today our pets are softer. They, like us, prefer an air conditioned car and bedroom. The queen sized bed is a little wider than the old double bed; although I suspect no matter what size our current bed, the blue healer would take up the most space.
We have buried 3 dogs and one cat, euthanised 1 rat, given away birds and lost another. I have lost track of chooks lost to old age, dogs, a fox and snakebite.
No matter what shape or size or how cute, every pet holds a special place in our heart and memory. My favourite pet though is the dog. I am inclined to agree with this saying” A dog comes into our lives to teach us about love. They depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog, it merely expands the heart.”
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