Isobel is holding a Pet Remembrance Day at her blog in memory of Cat, her beloved moggie that she lost three years ago. She has inspired me to tell you about some of my dearly missed and always loved pets.
The first pet I remember was a budgie. When he died I horrified my mother when she came home to find the kitchen smelling rather funny. I was eight at the time and I put his cold wee body in the oven. No…not a cremation, I was praying that if I warmed him up he would stop being cold and still.
The next pet was a puppy named Penny. She died way too young when she fell asleep under my brother’s car and he ran her over.
Then there was Tiny. I came home one day to find Tiny gone. After my mother died I was living with my brother, who took an intense dislike to her…I heard from family friends that he took her on a trip and dumped her.
It wasn’t until I grew up that there was another dog. Her name was Tia. A staffordshire terrier I rescued from the pound. She had distemper, and it was a long battle to save her but we did. When I went overseas Tia went to live with another brother. A much kinder one.
While living in Holland my ex and I had Jab. He had a funny habit. No male could put his hand in Jab’s cage. He attacked every time. But females were always welcome.
It wasn’t until I was married and living back in Australia that I had another dog. While living in Queensland the ex and I went to a Jack Russell breeder and both fell in love with one puppy. We were sadly told he had already been picked by someone else. So we decided to wait. One day I spotted and ad in the Courier Mail for a male Jack Russell puppy that someone was selling because they were moving.
Turned out that puppy was the same little male we had seen at the breeder. The ex was in hospital at the time, so I arranged to have the breeder pick him up and put him on a plane to Bundaberg and me. The ex was a bit put out, but I had Sep, and that was just meant to be.
Sep was my Houdini puppy. When we moved to Napier, he escaped once and the lady we got him back from was full of stories about how he took on her rottweiler and refused to back down.
One day this trait he had of wandering would end his life. I found him after another escape laying on the road. When I picked him up he folded like a book in my arms. My only consolation was that it would have been quick. When I buried him under a rose bush our other dog took to sleeping on his grave.
Our other dog was Tia. A kelpie cross, she had had a hard few weeks of life when we got her. Raised in a cow barn, she was a tiny ball of fleas. Tia was with me for 17 years. She had such a wonderful temperament. When her time came it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.
Not long before Tia passed I also had to make a similar decision for Katie. Katie was a maltese terrier. But she was so inbred that her life was short. Just 18 months. She had Cushing’s Disease. My post ‘The Capacity of Katie’ is about all the things this wee darling taught me in those scant 18 months, and the legacy she left me with.
So…to these beautiful souls, I say thank you. Thank you for being part of my life, Thank you for your love, your joy, your being. Each one of you have left your mark on my heart and in my soul. I will forever be grateful I knew you, that I loved you, but most importantly…that you loved me.
my dog when I was child, a husky of ours and a childrens dog he was.. 😉
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The best kind there is Gerry.
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🙂
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The early pet years were scarring. I can’t believe your brother just took your dog away and dumped her. Thanks for sharing, Jo.
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Well he was not a very nice guy all round Isobel. He dumped my brother’s dog as well. Skipper came back the first time, paws worn and bloodied. But not long after he disappeared again.
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Goodness. I imagine you are no longer in touch.
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Not for a great many years. You know what say…you can’t pick your family !
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I don’t think he can have inherited the same genes as you. A changeling perhaps?
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He does have a different Dad. But he has two full brothers, both my half brothers and they are lovely. I absolutely adore one of them and always have. I think it was me. He just couldn’t stand me from the moment I arrived to live with Mum and the three boys when I was eight. I actually wrote about it once. That helped, it was called: Brotherly Love. It was many years before I could get over the things he did to me. It seems he hasn’t changed either. I heard from an older sister [and her daughter-in-law] that he was pretty awful to his two kids from that marriage. I am actually in touch now with his oldest daughter Karen, and I get the impression her relationship with him is tough for her.
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You made me cry with this one, Jo! I’m a lifelong dog lover and as painful as it is when these dear creatures leave us it would be worse not having them brighten up our lives with their affection and loyalty in the first place.
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Awwww…sorry Ed. Didn’t mean to do that.
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Losing anyone you care about is hard, but losing a pet that loves without question has to be one of the hardest things of all. Great images and great songs Jo.
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Thanks Izaak. They really do leave such a big hole when they go.
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Such blessings, they were 🙂
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Yes they were Meredith.
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To Sawdust and Marshall, Tia and Mr. T. To Jaekle and Ethan, I salute you.
That felt good. Thanks, Jo.
You had quite the crew and lots of love.
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I did !! I have been so lucky to have known them.
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OK now I need a tissue… pets touch our lives in so many ways. Now I think of my pets. We had a cat, Frisky, and my family all sat and cried after we had to put her down. 2 more cats in between who lived short lives due to illness. Then there was Holly. Such a sweet cat. I couldn’t leave her when I moved to China, so she made the trip. It was 2 years yesterday I had to put her down. I still think of her often. It was the hardest thing I had to do, but she was suffering. Now we have Willow a crazy active cat who sometimes thinks she is a dog, or human.
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Charlie is like that. No way does he think he is a cat. Comes like a dog when I call.
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Willow plays fetch!
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No way !!! I wish Charlie would…even Chevvy !!!
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Yup and wags her tail like a dog!
I have a video… I should post it on You Tube. She doesn’t do it all the time or as much now (she is almost 2 and not as hyper). When she was a kitten it would be non stop for about an hour before she tired.
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Oh you so have to post that !!! PLEASE !!!
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It is hilarious. I don’t think I can post videos on my WP. Hubby has a YouTube account, so I will ask him to help me and then can add the link. Next week is a holiday and we are off, so more time to do it.
PS. We ARE going to Hong Kong— found a cheap flight. While there we are going to look for that Book Store!!!
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I hope you find it !!!!
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I’ll do a post about it once I get it sorted. Fingers crossed it works!
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🙂
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Thank you for sharing your stories, Jo. I still miss Evan and Macken…
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I don’t know if you ever stop missing them, but now at least I smile when the memories come.
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This was a great memorial for your pets, Jo. They do so become our children, and bring us such love and joy.
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They do Angeline. It was lovely to remember them, to talk about them and to share them with everyone.
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Enjoyed reading about your pets and your remembering them today, Jo.
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Thanks Ruth. I am so glad you did.
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They do bring so much joy and love into our lives Jo! Great photo’s and memories hon. Love this post. 😀
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Thanks ma’am. Glad you liked it.
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Sobs 😦
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Awwwwww
😉
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Such a moving tribute to your furry friends Jo.
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Thanks Madhu. I miss them everyday still.
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Our pets are part of the family. How anyone can mistreat one of these innocent souls is beyond me. I am not a dog person but I love my daughter’s poodle Max. For a dog that’s know life outdoors, he’s become a loving dog for my granddaughters and he also accepts me.
I’ve had cats over the years and have had to put some down. Heartbreaking to do so.
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It is heartbreaking at times…but I wouldn’t trade the heartbreak, because then I would not have known the joy.
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*hugs own kitty and nods*
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So sad, Jo! I think when bad things happen to our pets when we are young it scars us. I’ve been thinking about blogging about my childhood pet, Breeze, but it is still traumatizing to me to this day…good for you for telling these stories…
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You should try Sue. Sometimes it may be what is needed to go past the trauma.
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Aww! If only our pets lived a little longer. The have such short lifespans. Their lives are a great lesson in unconditional dedication. They also teach us patience and understanding when they grow old and their faculties begin to fail.
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They do all of that and so much more.
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So many pets! It was nice reading your pet biography esp. the first one in the oven 😮 😆 Very nice too that you kept all these vintage pics. Love, love your pic with a camera. No wonder you’re such an expert
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Far from expert Rommel, but I keep trying to learn.
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I love all these stories, especially Willow. That one made me laugh. And you are so right about the memories making us smile. We have those forever. And I am so proud that this annual sharing and remembering came about because of Cat. Truly, a cat in a million.
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He sure started something special Isobel. As for Willow…in another post the comment about Willow was this:
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🙂
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🙂
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Heartbreaking. I still miss my Sara and Amanda, a dachshund and a bearded collie. My boys I love – as we do with our pets. Our headmaster (a man) stayed at home the day his Alsatian died. I think I appreciate him more after this…
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Those little things ]like staying home to grieve the loss of a beloved pet] tells you a lot about someone.
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They really do. I think we all loved him for doing this.
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It makes you see a complete other part of them sometimes.
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