Garden Gnome

I was about 5 when we got a black cocker spaniel we named Flip. He would let us bury him in a pile of leaves in the fall, then come bursting out when we called him.

EmiliasNana

First was a parakeet that I named "Dickie bird". Darn bird never did learn his name LOL Then dimestore turtles I named "Beaver and Lively". In the meantime Mom and Dad finally consented to a dog, a dashchund named "Fritz" when I was 8. That dog was loved with doll bonnets, rides, doctoring and walks. He even learned to sit up, though would often fall over backwards. I cried and cried when Mom called to say he had colon cancer and was put down my sophomore year of college. While DH and I were waiting for Army housing, our first together, we rescued a baby chipmunk from a cat and had "Stewie", named after Stewart Airforce Base. Stewie grew and regained his confidence and we sadly let him go back into the wild 2 weeks later. The same day we went to the pound and found the cutest Golden puppy. We adopted "Heidi". When she passed we saw a litter in the newspaper saying Golden puppies...........false advertising but definitely a draw LOL "Jodi" looked part Shepherd and part lab but smaller. She was a lovely dog, but not cuddly enough for me. She became our son's bed mate however, ha, ha, and took the pillow for herself. Finally found a Golden: "Molly", then "Kelsi" who died of a bowel obstruction at 16 mo. We were devastated and went back to the same breeder for another girl. She had a litter of 9, all boys. Well, after seeing a litter of puppies it wouldn't matter it they were purple, right? We chose not one, but two (my DH wanted one and our daughter wanted another) so Mom (me) agreed to both and "Jake and Riley" came to live with us for 13 + yrs.
They cost us a fortune in medical bills at the Univ. of IL: terrible allergies, and Jake had a weird problem where his bladder and his brain didn't jive. That was luckily a quick pill fix, but took lots of testing and research into Journal articles for them to finally figure out. Finally nasal cancer that required surgery and radiation at the age of 11. He was such a character though and always happy, even throughout the treatment....almost a court jester personality and was the love of the clinic. Students would study for their finals in his cage until I could pick him up. Jake and Riley died within 17 days of ea. other, Riley first. We lived without dogs for a long 3.5 yrs. but had our daughters to love on. We finally got two more Goldens from a breeder and now have "Finley and Declan" who are 4.5 yrs. old. They are our most trained and follow my DH wherever he goes: in the yard or in the pool etc. We travel a lot as all three of our kids live a distance away, but luckily have fantastic house sitters. Next year we hope to get a small RV so the dogs can accompany us on many of our US trips.
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jetayre

I had a dog names Lassie. she was a Golden Retriever, german shepherd mix. .

Battle Axe

[ATTACH=CONFIG]604294[/ATTACH]We had a Cocker Spaniel that was one quarter Brittany. She is the one with the black nose. Dad took her to a place where there was a full Brittany and Ginger presented us with 6 pups. I was thrilled when Dad said I could pick out a male pup for my very own. Then he told me there was only one male and I didn't even get to pick it out. I named him Bo and he is the one with the pink nose. Best dog I ever had.

We lived on the edge of the wilderness in Modoc Co. Calif. The gubmint decided to poison the coyotes that roamed near our house and both these wonderful dogs got poisoned as well. Then since that didn't really curb the coyotes, they hired some airplanes and sharp shooters. The neighbor girl and I rode our horses out and came to a pile of dead coyotes, maybe a couple hundred of them, plus there were about a dozen Bobcats and three Mountain Lions. All shot and left in piles.

I have seen live Bobcats out there, but not a Mountain Lion. However, I think my horse smelled a Mountain Lion. She began to shake uncontrollably. The natural enemy of the Zebra is the Lion. When the Bobcat ran right in front of us, my horse was not the least bit afraid.

Sorry about the ramblings. I was probably in the 5th or 6th grade when that pic was taken.

zozee

Boston and Battle Axe, those pictures are classic! I just love the hair and clothes and vintage kitchen and, of course, the dogs

My very first pet was a white cat named Misty. I was probably 3 years old. I don't remember particularly caring for her (not that I didn't like her, but we never bonded). She would scratch my baby sister's face and eyes at times; the pediatrician told my mom she should choose between the cat and her baby's vision. You can guess her choice.

The first pet I loved was a sheltie named Lassie. I was 8. A year later she had 3 puppies, perfect for me and my 2 sisters. We each chose one. I chose the runt (since I was short and called runt) and named her Tot. Unfortunately, she died suddenly of an unknown cause at just 10 weeks old. (My mom witnessed her turn over and put her little paws straight up in the air and cried for about 10 seconds. My mom ran out to the dog pen, performed CPR on my puppy, but it was too late. Thankfully I was not at home at the time. Never did know what caused that--a heart attack? Aneurysm? We buried her in a shoebox in the backyard, funeral and everything.)

SuzzyQ

My first pet was a kitten (barn raised) I called Taffy because of her long taffy coloured fur. Over the years she became Mom's cat when I moved on. She presented us with many litters of kittens but none were long hairs like her. I got pretty good a predicting when and number of kittens she'd give us.
Took 25 years for my DH to consent to a cat and then we got Waverly who was supposed to be our DD's cat but... he was a smart one and gloamed onto the Boss (DH) cause he knew who would let him stay. DH would play with him and Waverly never played like that with anyone else. He'd stay with DH and mimic him. Also coerced DH to dig his toys out from under the fridge. OR lay on the floor and pet him. Quite funny. The last six months we had him (11 years) for some reason he became my cat and would crawl up on me in bed where he used to crawl onto the Boss. If I was knitting or sewing , he'd be on my lap or right beside me. Scared me to death one time tapping me on the should while I was sewing at night. He needed me to move a pile of mending so he had a place to sleep.
Now I have M'Gennis who is quite the clown but not a lap cat. He does like to be with me... and in the way of course. Very nosy when I'm sewing.

feline fanatic

Wow what a memory for you! That would definitely be the most memorable. When I was born we had an orange tabby cat named Tiger. I remember that cat as he was still alive by the time I started school. He was the most amazing cat. I can remember when I walked home from school and got to our neighbors house I would call out "Tiger, Tiger" and immediately get down on my hands and knees. Tiger would come bounding out from wherever he was, run at me full tilt and give me a head bump and full body rub greeting. Tiger started my life long love affair with cats. There has only been one brief episode of my life when I did not have a cat and that was because I lived with a roommate who was allergic. The very first thing I did when I moved out was get two kittens. I have always been a multi-cat household ever since. My top count was 5. I currently have 3.

betthequilter

My first pet was a parakeet. I was under 10 years old and for the life of me I cannot remember his name. I would let him out of his cage once a day to fly around the room. I would stand across the room from him and tap my shoulder and he would fly across the room and land on my shoulder.

When I was 11 years old my parents let me have a dog. He was a terrier named Tippie. After I graduated from high school and went to work he would lay in the hallway and wait for me to come home. I taught him to walk on his hind legs and even spin around once during the walk across the room!

Tothill

My family had a cat before I came along, but Mutzie was not my cat. When I was in Kindergarten my class had a Guinea Pig named Ruffles. At the end of the year I was allowed to bring her home. She was mine, until my uncle visited with his dog, the dog went into the house and killed Ruffles. I was devastated.

But she was the beginning of a life long love of Guinea Pigs. I have not had one for 30 years, but they have a place in my heart. I love to go into a pet store and get them all whistling.

liking quilting

"Buster" - a rat terrier dog, who was very friendly, and "SkippY" a larger, white, long haired dog, (cannot remember the breed), who was very much a loner and kept to herself. Mom always said that Skippy was never a happy or the same after they brought her back from being spayed. My all-time favorites came when I was about 5, two ponies! I still love and have ponies to this day.