Growing up on a farm sort of lends itself to animal loving, I guess. All the time I was home, there were always assorted critters around. Cats, dogs, chickens, cows, pigs (John and Peggy) several horses; Sam, Thunder, Samira Phaedra, two ponies, Scout and Chilly, Dozens of cats shared my apartments over the years, including my bestest Tonka.. He was a Persian Himalayan with blue eyes like huge baby blue marbles. Oh yes, and then there were the two baby skunks I rescued on the side of the road when their mother was killed.. Irving and Poppy. Yes, we had them de -skunked, if that is what you could call it. Not much surprised my parents. Not to mention countless dogs .It was just natural that when I bought my own home and did not need a land lord's approval I would get whatever I felt like getting. I rescued two rabbits that were abandoned. The big floppy eared male I named Spock and the female I named Alba. Reading too many plant journals again, I guess. And yes, I am Trekkie, several conventions later and all but LeVar Burton's autograph to prove it! The rabbit poop is GREAT fertilizer!! Well, I had a Black Lab named Ebony and a Mastiff mix named Razzamatazz until about two years ago. Razz died from cancer of the spleen. I grieved, boy did that hit me hard. I wanted to get another dog and started looking. All the places I looked had price tags starting around four hundred dollars. Keep in mind this was for unregistered mutts! My friend found Pooches On The Move on Craig's List, and they seemed like my best bet. They had what they described as a Mastiff mix in their selections. So I filled out the application, and away we went. Cowboy, as they called him had been wandering the streets in a city in Tennessee. The rescue squad that found him said that he had probably been used as a bait dog for pit bull fighting. He had severe cuts and gashes all over his body and his tail was like swiss cheese. I was told the reason he was "bait" was because even though he was large, he wasn't aggressive at all.
I was specifically looking for a larger dog again, and thought this might be a nice fit. I am a sucker for hard ship stories,I guess. They had to bring him all the way from Portland, Maine. The day he arrived, he immediately adjusted to my fenced in yard, and it was love at first sight. They equipped me with two very nice feeding bowls, a new leash, collar, and his medical records. Well, after they left, and we got into our new routine, imagine my horror finding out he was not housebroken!!!!! In all fairness, he wasn't 85 pounds at the time considering his recent history. Good thing for me he was a fast learner. Now there was that name thing."Cowboy" would never fly. Butch just popped into my head.I don't know where that came from, I don't even know any people by that name. But Butch it was and now it is the only name I can imagine for him. He is very playful and I have to say he never matured. He still acts like a puppy. When I am able to post a picture or three, you will all see his mug. He has taken a great fondness for my bed, and if he is on it before me at night, and I have to tell him to "move", I always get a gentle growl of protest. He is very vocal about everything. Doesn't take "no" very well..
So that's the skinny on my big mutt Butch.When people first see him, some are afraid, and kids walking by the fence sometimes scream but I guess that is to my benefit, because watch dog he isn't. Just don't tell anyone,OK?
We are still grieving the losses of our Obie and Stewie, who died in May of 1913 and 14 respectively. We still have Grayson and Trixie, but we are both gradually coming to the truth of the matter being that they will probably be our last pups. For our very poor health keeps us from caring for them as well as we would like to. Oh, and we also have four cats (counting Arlynda's mother's, who is over 20 years old now) living in the house. This should help with funeral expenses since cats are known for eating their dead owners--right?
ReplyDeleteWhoa, that should have been May of 2013 and 14. Yeah, I am getting pretty good with my practice senior moments.
DeleteI have tons of senior moments as well. It makes for stimulating conversation, if you can remember what you were talking about in the first place! I have a birthday coming up and I will hit the big 64. Here's to feeble minds. Yey..
DeleteI will be turning 57 this Monday (unless our Heavenly Father has other plans, of course). So, you have a few years head-start on me, but I'm catching up fast!
DeleteWhen you mentioned all the "assorted critters" you grew up with, thanks for not mentioning me.
ReplyDeleteWonder how LeVar Burton feels, being mentioned in the same breath as "rabbit poop."
I would love to meet Patrick Stewart! I grew up in the country on a sawmill and we had cats and dogs and they were all strays as many people just would drop them off and we would find them, feed them and they would stay which i loved. My dad once found 2 baby squirrels in a log and my mom raised them. Once my dad was wondering why the sawmill did start like it should have and when he went out there, the men didn't want to disturb the new batch of bunnies that were born the night before. The big gruff men made sure the bunnies were protected and they worked around them and brought lettuce and celery and carrots. They were romping all around the mill. My hubby and I got a dog from a rescue group that brings dogs from Louisiana. Wallace is wonderful but is phobic of the outside to this day and hates going for walks as he is so frightened. We believe he was shot at as he had a scar, hates the nail guns used on roofs and, when i watched a WW2 documentary I had to mute the part with the sound of gun fire because he got so scared. What a shame what the animals have to go through but at least they have nice homes now
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