The Animals That Share Our Home

August 10- Share a pet that you have or had in the past.

My goodness, do you realize how many pets one can claim in nearly 60 years of living! If you are an animal lover like me, that can add up to a lot. Many of my pets lived long, loving lives, though some got away too quickly for me. Just two years ago we lost two 19-year-old cats. The same year we also lost two old dogs. That was a rough 12 months.

For the past 15 or so years I've kept chickens which all got names. They say if you name something, it becomes your pet. Currently, I have Opal and her chick Pebbles, Rocky, Garnet, and Ruby. There is also Rooster, but he's not a pet, just a nuisance. We also have a duck named Quackenbush.

Garnet checking out Quackenbush's makeshift pond.

While my daughter is away at college,  I take care of her dog Peanut. Peanut has lived with us since she was about 8-weeks old, and she is now about 6-years old. About two years ago we adopted a tuxedo cat that we named Clara Bow. She has the most unusual marking on her face that looks like a white mustache. It took me a little while to get used to it because it was odd looking to me. Now I don't notice it; it's just part of her character. When we got her, she had never been outside. We planned on keeping her that way too, but she was so fascinated by the activity going on outside that we started letting her out in the yard. At first she would just go out and look around, then come back into the house. Now she is a regular "barn cat", as my husband likes to call her.

Clara Bow

Peanut