Thursday, June 22, 2006
thirteen pets
- Duchess. A honey-colored cocker spaniel. I was 5, and she was either a Christmas or a birthday gift, possibly a combo (my birthday is close to Christmas). She was a puppy from a litter my aunt's black cocker spaniel Heidi had. She had a little house in the garage, and periodically had puppies, which, contrary to every fiction book out there, we never got to witness.
- Daisy. One of Duchess's puppies. Nobody knew who the father was, but he was a pretty big dog, because Daisy turned out pretty big, too.
- Tello. A Chinese dwarf hamster. Or at least that's what we thought it was. The descriptions I can find online sound all wrong, and don't look right, either. It looked more like a Winter White hamster, but it must not have been that, either. Our daughter, who was 3 at the time, named it. Tello didn't last long--after only a week, it acted as if it had a cold, its breathing was more & more labored, and it died. So we took it back to the pet store, where the proprietor told us that this kind of hamster shouldn't have a water bottle--that it should get all its water from moist food, like bits of apples, or it would get pneumonia and die. Now he tells us. (this is why I'm guessing it was some other kind of hamster, or even some other kind of rodent, because all the hamster sites say they need water bottles)
- Tello 2. Thus armed with knowledge, we took our daughter over to the hamsters to pick a new one. We were a little worried about picking one, because we'd told her we were taking Tello to the pet store because he was sick. (yeah, yeah--you should always tell your kids the truth, and the death of a pet is a perfect opportunity to teach them about life and death. sue me. she was 3.) No problem, though, because she pointed to the hamster that looked least like Tello 1, and said "look! It's Tello! He comes to me!" And that was that. We had him for another year and a half, getting all his water from bits of apple and carrot, gave him to a friend when we moved, and he lived another year after that.
Sage. I've looked and looked, and can't find a picture on this computer, darnit. She's a beautiful cat, anyway.If I can get Dagny to send a picture, I'll post it.Here's the picture. Kind of dark, but you get the idea. Half tabby and half Siamese. Our daughter's consolation prize for getting a baby brother. She was a gift from my mom, who gave her the name. She stayed in San Antonio with Dagny, and at nearly 17, the vet says she's as healthy as a cat half her age.- Charlene Kitten. Never allow Carl to go to a pet store unsupervised, particularly not with a child in tow. Charlene Kitten was a long-haired calico, a gorgeous cat, named by Dagny. She was also a dominatrix. Sweet at first, then she became a bully. For over a year, she forced Sage to stay in the basement. Every time Sage would poke her head over the top of the stairs, Charlene Kitten would chase her back down. When Charlene Kitten escaped and lived in the trees in the backyard for 3 weeks (we could see her, we just couldn't catch her), Sage purred continuously. We finally gave her away to friends who didn't have a cat--she obviously needed to be an only cat.
- Atra. A box turtle, also named by Dagny. It didn't have a lot of personality, but she loved it.
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Diva. Another cocker spaniel. She came to us via friends, who'd found her astray in Corpus Christi. They searched for her owners for 3 months, and had wanted to keep her, but she liked kids so much they wanted to find a family with kids for her. - A succession of hamsters. Regular ones this time. Rex, then Max & Moritz, then Odie & Nermal. Points for anyone who can figure out where all the names came from--Dagny named them again. Rex and Max died of natural causes. Moritz was an escape artist, and Diva got him. Nermal was another escape artist, and we were more vigilant with him, putting the cage in the tub so he couldn't go far. Unfortunately, he was also suicidally brave or adventurous, and he climbed a towel hanging over the edge of he tub and made his escape, only to get slimed to death by dog drool. Odie was fat, lazy, and, in the end, blind, which made him freak out when anyone came near, and he'd bite them. Either that, or he was just such a pig that he had to test everything to see if it was edible.
- Godzilla Jr. An iguana. I feel guilty about this one. I didn't know how to take care of an iguana, so I left it up to Carl & the boys. They didn't know how to take care of it, either. Mom's new rule: no new pets until you research how to care for them. Yes, I should have made the rule after Tello1. I said I felt guilty.
- Ruby. A rat. This was rescued from a friend of Dagny's, whose mom threatened to kill it. We had her for about 2 years.
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Burnsie. A miniature dachshund. Dagny gets another consolation prize pet--this one for having to stay in San Antonio while we move to Germany. Points again for anyone who guesses where the name comes from. She's not much of a guard dog--she'll roll over and submit to even smaller dogs. But she's great company. - Gamera. A water turtle. And yes, they did research. Got books from the library, looked online, and talked to their uncle, who has two, and who will inherit Gamera when we move back to Texas.
Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. One Scrappy Gal's mom's superstitions
2. What Red did on holiday
3. Margaret is looking for treasure
4. Lauren hated P.E. too
5. Mandy on moving house
6. Scouser reads comics
7. Ivan's office routine
8. Doug's easy recipes
9. Stephanie went shopping
10. May's pastry cookbook wishlist
11. Lady Jane remembers her dog
12. Pictures of a day in Roscoe's life
13. Carmen is being demanding
14. Wrigley's dream jobs
15. Fated Hearts gets sweet emails
16. Kristarella's favorite Buffy episodes
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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I've never had a pet. I'm not sure I'm a pet person. I have two howler monkeys here (i.e. toddler and baby) but keep waiting to meet that dog that I'll just fall head over heels in love with. Maybe someday. Thanks for stopping by. :)
Great idea for a T13! I might just have to copy it...
Diva has got to be the best-looking cocker spaniel EVER. How expressive is that face?! And please, please, we want to see pictures of poor, little, bullied Sage!
Thanks for stopping by. Both Italy and the USA are playing again today... Who will go through to the next round???
Diva has got to be the best-looking cocker spaniel EVER. How expressive is that face?! And please, please, we want to see pictures of poor, little, bullied Sage!
Thanks for stopping by. Both Italy and the USA are playing again today... Who will go through to the next round???
Great list! I have had way over 13 pets and I can't bring myself to "exculde" any one of my darlings that I have or have treasured through the years. Turtles are fun! And low maintenance. -Margie
I had a Chinese Dwarf Hamster before too. She was pregnant when I got her and she canaliblized one of her babies...she was history after that...lol! They are cute though aren't they?
# posted by 
: 6/22/2006 4:05 PM
: 6/22/2006 4:05 PM
I love pet TT's!
I did one a while back, and enjoyed every minute of it. I've always wanted an iguana, but I have no idea how to take care of one either. I guess if I ever did get one, I'd read up about it first lol
Mandy :=)
I did one a while back, and enjoyed every minute of it. I've always wanted an iguana, but I have no idea how to take care of one either. I guess if I ever did get one, I'd read up about it first lol
Mandy :=)
# posted by : 6/22/2006 4:30 PM
: 6/22/2006 4:30 PM
OSG, we never had pets until the kids were a bit older, either. The first one, Sage, wasn't our fault. :)
And yes, I've asked my daughter to send me a picture. Who knows when she'll get around to it, though. *sigh*
The soccer games are being played right now. Unfortunately, German TV is showing the wrong one! Argh.
And yes, I've asked my daughter to send me a picture. Who knows when she'll get around to it, though. *sigh*
The soccer games are being played right now. Unfortunately, German TV is showing the wrong one! Argh.
my goodness! you have those pets? wow. but it's fun i guess. :p
oh thanks for taking time out to visit mine @ http://ivan-ulrich.blogspot.com/.
oh thanks for taking time out to visit mine @ http://ivan-ulrich.blogspot.com/.
Oh, this would be such an easy 13 for me, Darla, you just don't know. Karen and I have been keeping exotics ever since we got married.
Now I know what I'll do next week.
Now I know what I'll do next week.
# posted by : 6/22/2006 5:43 PM
: 6/22/2006 5:43 PM
Well, I did leave out (and forgot to mention--ARGH) all the fish & various aquarium creatures. There were far too many to list.
I hope there'll be lots of pix, Doug--I love the frogs. :)
I hope there'll be lots of pix, Doug--I love the frogs. :)
Goodness, you've had a lot of pets! :) I love dogs. We have only had 2.
Thank you for visiting my list!
Thank you for visiting my list!
Interesting list, Darla.
Though I've never been much of a pet person myself, I now have one male beta fish in a little aquarium: that's the first non-human animal I've shared quarters with (by choice) in my entire adult life.
Oh, thanks for stopping by my T13 earlier. :)
Though I've never been much of a pet person myself, I now have one male beta fish in a little aquarium: that's the first non-human animal I've shared quarters with (by choice) in my entire adult life.
Oh, thanks for stopping by my T13 earlier. :)
# posted by : 6/22/2006 8:18 PM
: 6/22/2006 8:18 PM
you must be a very responsible person. having a pet is not easy. you have a big heart!
# posted by : 6/22/2006 9:47 PM
: 6/22/2006 9:47 PM
a wise decision for charlene to be given away. I used to have 2 hamsters and i didnt know which one is female or male and then soon after one of them gave birth to 6 kids and one by one died and i wasnt sure why as well. You're right about doing the research first before having a pet.
Happy TT. mine is up.
Happy TT. mine is up.
# posted by : 6/22/2006 10:04 PM
: 6/22/2006 10:04 PM
Wow I've only had one, a cat. Except when we were minding the neighbors rabbits and I let them loose. I was practically a baby. Sorry about Telo. Diva was gorgeous!
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# posted by : 6/23/2006 5:20 AM
: 6/23/2006 5:20 AM << Home
