Pets: Memories for a Lifetime

Childhood memories, everyone has them, but unfortunately not all of them are good. I know this will probably not come as a surprise, but most of my happiest childhood memories, one way or another, involve pets. I don’t think the memory of my first dog Bozo will ever fade. I can still see the happy tail wagging with excitement when I arrived home after school. Unfortunately, my first dog Bozo was not with us for a long time, but my second dog, Rebel, was with us for 14 years. Rebel was feared in the neighborhood, not because he was a good sized dog, but he was loud and did not act overly friendly with strangers. Truth be known, Rebel was a big teddy bear. As kids we used to play Hide-and-Go-Seek, and pretty much the whole neighborhood was in play. I usually won. Why? My favorite hiding spot was right inside Rebel’s dog house. Yes indeed, nobody would ever get close enough to find me there.

And cats, we always had cats. I remember a special litter of 4 males in the early 60s which we promptly named John, Paul, George and Ringo. I smile at the memory of my orange tabby cat Tiger sitting within inches of the neighbor’s fenced yard because he knew the dog Smokey hated cats. Poor Smokey would bark his fool head off, but Tiger never budged, at least until he was ready. And Mom cat Suzi, carefully walking her kittens 9 blocks to where she thought was home after we moved to a new place.

I've had rabbits, ducks, goldfish, and parakeets too. I fell head-over-heals in love with animals at a very early age, and that love continues to this day. There are so many homeless pets and the shelters it seems are always full. Just think of all the beautiful memories that are out there just waiting to happen. Sometimes computers aren’t the only things that need a memory upgrade. Consider visiting a local animal shelter, adopt a pet, and give your memory a boost, and a smile that will truly last a lifetime.