What is your pet?

[Teresa]

I know that we all love animals and "our pets" are like members of our family.
What is the name of your pet or pets.. And tell us about them.
Can be any kind of story or memory or just about what they are.

I'll start off:

I have had lots of pets.. Gosh.. Now that I think about it, I have lots of stories too.

I'll go way back and tell you about Jodi. She was a little Manchester/Terrier mix..
I was 20..pregnant with Danny and married to John Gray. Well, he wouldn't let me work out side the home..
And his dad, Waldo Gray, told John that he should get me a dog.  John said no.. But Waldo got me aside and told me to go to the Humane Society and just find me a nice little dog to keep me company. So after John went to work at the beginning of the week, His Aunt Nonie and I got in her truck and away we went. Just so happened that someone had found these 3 little dogs dumped on the side of the road. They were barely 6 weeks old and 2 of them were dead and the little black one was nudging her dead brothers and crying when they found them.
Well the little female that was alive is the one I took ( I didn't want one of the dead male dogs  )
Waldo told me when I called him, that John would be just fine with it.. But if he raised too much hell about it, I was to tell him that his dad said I could have it! 
Well, I couldn't wait until the night to tell him , so I found him on his coffee break. ( he worked for the city of Columbia, Mo. As a lineman) I carried this little tiny black lump in and the whole place fell in love with her.. Including John. 
John loved my mother and daddy like they were his own.. And so that night when he got home, he told me that we were going to name her Jodi .. After my mother.. 
Good Great Scott! Ha ha ha   So we did... and Mother had her first 'grand dog' named after her..

This dog was so smart.
I taught her to wipe her feet on the rug inside the door when she would come in. (she would pat her paws  back and forth on the rug, and we would just praise her for wiping her feet. If she would run in the door, I would say,"Jodi? You go back over there and wipe your feet".. She would go back and do as she was told.. LOL She knew all of her toys by name.. and would dig around in her bag until she found the one you ask her for.
We had to spell around her too. She knew when we were talking about coming home( to Howard)  If we would say Howard, or mama or daddy or suitcase...or car..
She would perk her ears up .. Cock her head and just look at us..and then run real fast down the hall and get her little tapestry bag ( what we called her suitcase that held her toys) and drag that thing to the front room and then just stand there  looking at us.. As if to say" Well? Aren't we gone yet?" Then run around the house all hypered up until we left.. so we would spell until we were ready to pack.
She did so many tricks and was so smart and a wonderful watch dog after Danny was born. She would sit by him and only would she move if I sat down or picked him up and then she was next to me checking on him in my arms every so often.

She got hit by a truck one stormy night when we were camping down at the river. We think that there were so many people coming and going in trucks that she thought one of them was us leaving..and followed it out on the highway.
The next morning when she wasn't by my sleeping bag. Sharle Carter/ Watkins went with me and when we found her, she buried her for me. I was so sad. 
But she gave us lots of love and laughter in the 7 years we had her.

[Sherry]

Teresa, when I think of you and a dog, I remember the story your sister told me that grossed me out and made me dry heave for years (every time I used to think of it)!

When Sherri and I were probably less than ten years old, she told me that you once had this dog that you adored. You even used to kiss it until one time you kissed it and then started chewing something crunchy. She said it was the dog's eye hockey.

Was this true? Or did Sherri tell me this just because it was funny to see a person dry heave?

[Teresa]

I kiss all my dogs..( I thought everybody did  ).
But actually I think my sister probaby saw that your face was turning green and so she streeeeetchhhed the story a bit for 'barfing effect'.. LOL
Actually I was loving on my dog.. kissing him..( of course) and when I pulled away, I had something on my lip..
I did not.. I repeat!! DID NOT chew on whatever was there.
I actually started spitting and wiping my mouth.. and back then, I didn't have the real strong stomach I had now, so I think I went into 'gag mode' myself.

[Teresa]

Am I the only one with a pet???
I could tell you more, cause I have had several special 4 legged friends of all kinds..
but it would be nice if someone else would take a turn...

Come on folks... lets hear some stories..

[CarlaG]

Hi!

I thought I'd share about how we got our little Quaker parrot, Joey (we thought it was a he, but found out it was a she--Josephine). Anyway, we had a Quaker before (they're a little bigger than a cockatiel with green feathers, a gray belly, and blue tipped wings) named Ed and he died. That's a whole other story that I'll tell later. Anyway, we were mourning the death of Ed, who we'd had for 14 years. We shared with our congregation on a Sunday morning how Ed had died and about the grief that we'd been feeling. (We are both ordained ministers, on sabbatical now and writing.) Sorry about all the interjections... After the second service, one of our congregants came walking up the aisle of the church with this little bird on his hand. I burst into tears and so did the rest of the congregation. The man had gone out between services and bought this newly weaned baby Quaker from a friend. She was very cool, calm and collected as he handed her to us and the congregation clapped and cheered.

At first we were shocked and thought "Oh no, we're just not ready for another bird." But Joey, we felt, maybe needed us. She is the total opposite of Ed in temperament. She is very affectionate and quiet. We have grown to love her dearly.

Carla

[Teresa]

That is wonderful!! I wanted to clap and cheer myself..
Well she has a wonderful home .and good parents now. 

I had finches for awhile.. but then they had babies and I got another big cage.. and then those babies started laying eggs..and had babies.. so finally I put the females together..and the males together.. The boys would stand in their cages next to the girls in their cages and they all would just siiiingggg and flirt with each other..
I felt bad for not letting them be together.. but those little critters breed a LOT.. ha ha 
Finally gave them to some friends that had lots of different birds . They are still alive and doing great..