Furry Friends & ...

I can only speak on cats, dogs & goldfish, so I'd like to share my love of at least two of them. Goldfish first. I tried so hard to be a good water child mother, I really did. But they kept getting "ick"?? I thought this was something you said not something water children get. So, needless to say after a few teary eyed & mournful visits over a toilet an/or burials in the backyard box, I realized I don't make a very good mother... of water children that is. Hey, I don't have 2 legged kids so maybe this is some sort of.............. SIGN. (GASP) Don't worry, I haven't had a maternal moment in my life and maybe this is yet another OBVIOUS sign, ya think?

Now early in my childhood I have fond memories of twin German Sheppards and how they really loved ME. It seemed they loved me more than humans did because they ran up to the fence when I came home and jumped on me like I WAS food. It was the most amazing feeling as a lil kid under 8. Awwwww... I miss them still as those memories are more fresh than some human interaction memories. Sad huh? NOPE!! The next memory I have of Teddy & Tramp (I don't recall naming them) is they were taken to Doggie Trainer School or whatever it was. I was horrified so much that I remember not leaving my room unless removed physically or the sight of one of those "switches" from the Pussy Willow WEEEED (grrrrrrrr) in the back yard. Now, if you have no idea what a 'switch' is, then you obviously grew up no where near the East Coast. Comedians joke about the dreaded swoooop in the air that the horrible azz whipping apparatus made and/or the having to go get your own "switch" to get beat with. Yeppers kiddos... you were sent in the yard to go get this thin, long branch off of the tree. It had leaves and also grew pussy willow buds when in bloom. The whole thing could and would be used - blooms and leaves STILL in tact. Well, until they sliced on your skin.

Well there went the lovely memory of the dogs... (sighs). If you did not come back with an "appropiate" branch, the abuser (ughh huuuh) would go and get a THICKER one orrrrrrrrrrr, far worse - bring several. Let me tell you, that is not a picture a kid who was raised as an only child that was adopted wanted to see. I was a small frame kid (looks down and asks where did that frame go) and that "switch" would literally wrap around my body. So the pull off was not very pretty either. I vowed to burn that tree to the ground. Hey, I threw my hot wheels track away because it was used in abusive moments as well. I mean come ONNNNNNNNN. How bad can a ONLY child be???? (sighs) Ok, back to the puppies. So I stopped eating and I stopped breathing, I thought. I was just devastated as they were my best friends ever back then. I wasn't allowed to go play with the other kids that much. Can you say overly sheltered to the maximum degree. Nobody gives people a parents guide and if they did some would never open the cover or allow them to collect massive dust. I grew up and I am not even bitter about it as I have put it in prayer. Rest her soul if she's left this life is all I have to say.

Later on, we moved after a family break-up and the babysitter & her husband were inspected by the child welfare peeps and found to have been feeding us dog and cat food. She brought some cans with no labels on them and... don't ask, I have no clue if I was a victim or not but rest their souls too. Plus some other stuff went down where she did the absolute adopted child no-no but that's another blog... maybe. Up the street we went and a new dog I get. 'Snowball' was a purely white Alaskan hound?? His tail curled in a 'c' and he had this long, long white furry coat. I was so sick of having to several times a day go through the house and find his fur tracks. Yes, the house had to be spotless at ALL times. Remember, 'Mommy Dearest'? I could have made a black girl version of it... no lie. Anyhow I loved Snow but not as much because I was still hurt from T&T. I recall I wanted to know if he REALLY was a boy. Stay with me because this will come back further on. So I looked under him and he seemed to be offended and bit me - hard. I remember that and then I do not recall whatever happened to him after that. I just can not remember if he was taken away or if he passed on. Rest his soul wherever he is in fur child heaven.

So as an adult in my late 20's, I gave the goldfish mommy some time and as I said earlier, it did not work. In '88 my college pal invited me to her house in PG County, MD. I'm there having my normal visit fun when I see she has kittens. I'm like 'where did they come from?' and of course much laughter erupts. So there's these lil furballs scurrying around while Reesie's trying hard to get me to take one home.' Oh nooooo', I'm thinking. I went t0 live with my Dad when I was 15 and they had cats straight till I RAN back to B-more when I was roughly 19 or so. I was done for pets or so I thought. Well, something was in the bushes just dashing around and I am like is that a big bug?? I get up and go over to see what it was - very cautiously I might add. I see a black spot and try to untangle it from the woodsy mess. I had in the palm of my hand an all black kitten no mare than a few weeks old. I turn around and some one goes, 'you touch it you own it'. I try explaining that I live in a 'no pets allowed apartment complex'. Nope, did not work as lil thing seemed so attached to me it was not funny. You can't take them from their parent(s) to early and that was a relief in my mind, I thought. I go back over a few weeks later and the kitten finds ME. WHAT????

'Prentis', as he is now known as, was like 8 weeks or so when I packed him in the car and started driving back to my home which is a little over an hour from his place of birth. He meowed all over the dashboard, all over the back seat, front seats and even me. Shoulders, legs hair and whatever else was in his wee lil claw grasp was not untouched. So I pulled over and calmed him (and me) down by stroking him to sleep in my lap. He slept for all of the 30 minutes left to get to his new home. We get to the parking lot and I hide him under my coat. It was dark as tar but still, I wasn't taking any chances. Speeding this up, he spent many a days hidden when maintenance came and even got busted. The guy was like 'Di, come here'. We went out front and right across from me there was a HUGE dog (like those bobsled) dogs in the patio door. He said 'why on earth are you trying to hide your cat when there is a dog in plain sight and it even gets walked on the premises'. Embarrassed I was and Prentis was never hidden again. I won't even get into how from the initial decision to take HER home I named HER 'Preshus' because I failed to check HIM like I did Snowball. I guess I didn't want to get bit again, I dunno. (shrugs shoulders) They tell me if you just keep the syllables (in the name) the same they'll be fine.

Ok, HE is fine today in his soon-to-be 20 year life span. Everyone who knows me is very concerned about what will happen when his time is no longer on this earth. I don't even want to think about it is the most I can say. I love him so much because his love is unlike that of ANY human but like that of The Almighty... UNCONDITIONAL!!