I’ve loved animals for as long as I can remember. As a child I never knew what I’d come home to after school. Perhaps my parents would be drunk and fighting with each other; maybe they’d come after me. I had experiences with bullies early on as well. One thing I could always count on was love and affection from my dog. People could be cruel, but pets just have this unconditional love that’s hard to beat, in my opinion. Early on, I had a rough time as far as pets go however. Let me explain….
I was five years old and my mom’s boyfriend got me a yellow lab. I named her Libby. That dog was my world and my best friend. I spent many an afternoon teaching her to shake and throwing the ball for her. Only problem was my neighbors’ sons had other ideas. They were known to be troublemakers and to have behavioral problems. They would come into our yard in the middle of the night and lure her into their yard- then call the dog pound. They did this several times until we could no longer afford to get her out. I never saw Libby again and I was heartbroken.
A couple years later, Mom had another boyfriend whom she later married. At the time I could have cared less about him, but his black lab Tasha- that was another story! She was super sweet and great with kids, especially me. We bonded instantly. One time she was in heat and I played with her like I always did before school. Keep in mind I was living in a small town and peoples’ pets roamed freely. I was playing outside at recess and next thing I knew, it was like every male dog in the neighborhood came to pay little ole me a visit! It was quite the fiasco! The teachers made me spend the rest of recess inside.
On the plus side, Tasha ended up getting pregnant. Months later we were blessed with a litter of puppies. Most went to our neighbors, but to my surprise I got to keep one for Christmas. He was a golden retriever I named Blitzen. I was warned by my stepfather that if he barked during the night ( they were outdoor dogs) that I was to quiet him down or my stepfather would get rid of him. By get rid of he meant end his life. What I learned years later, was that the puppies we hadn’t found homes for my stepfather had drowned in a river. Maybe that’s just how it was when you were in the middle of nowhere in the heart of a Montana winter- I don’t know. I do know to get animals fixed so that’s never and issue, and as an adult I would never leave a dog out in the cold. But I was eight years old and had a lot to learn.
Blitzen was my baby. I’d go for rides on my bike and he’d run along side me. Him and Tasha would wrestle around and it was so funny to watch! It was cool to to see him grow up to be such a big, strong boy I’d raised from a pup.
One summer, I’d gone to stay with my dad as I did every summer. He was in the next town about fifty miles away. It was cool seeing Dad and hanging out in the “big city” if you could call Deer Lodge that! But, I missed my babies and couldn’t get back soon enough.
When I got home however, something wasn’t right. I saw Tasha, but no Blitzen. That’s when Mom pulled me aside and said that Blitzen was no more. I asked what she meant. She said he got run over by some guy in a green truck. Every day for months I sat by the road waiting for a green truck to pass by, so I’d know who killed my boy. Finally, when Mom realized that her explanation didn’t pacify me, only made it worse, she told me the truth. My stepfather was the one who ran him over. It never occurred to me, but he did have a bluish green pickup truck. Apparently, he was at the dump and Blitzen laid down under the rear tire. When my stepfather got in to leave and backed up, Blitzen was killed instantly. I cried over that damn dog for three years!
A couple years later, we moved to Idaho and gave Tasha to some friends who owned a lot of land and had dogs for her to roam around with. I heard she lived a long happy life there- at least that’s what I choose to believe.
I was 32 years old before I even attempted having another pet. My husband and I were at Petsmart one day and they were doing and Angels with Paws adoption event. I had never grown up with cats, but my husband grew up with both cats and dogs. We decided to give it a shot. We ended up falling in love with an orange tabby named Trigger. He’s so needy and affectionate- he truly reminds me of a dog! A couple years later we got him a brother, another orange tabby named Edward. This kitty we got as a kitten from the shelter. They really are like siblings the way they cuddle and the way they play.
About a year after we adopted Edward I started volunteering at the animal shelter. It was in honor of all the pets who touched my life past and present. I feel lucky to have the opportunity to give love and hopefully a chance to so many precious furbabies who will adopt some lucky human to take them in and be their furever home 🙂