FRIDAY FIVE: PETS OR NOT?

1. Did you grow up with pets?
We had a fox terrier mix named Rex who loved to go camping with us
and travelled all over the states. He was a good family dog.

2. Do you have any pets now?
Two greyhounds - Jett and Jazz. A couple of toads who live in the
garden - Tetley and Terra II, a humingbird couple who visit our bee
balm and feeder - Hummer and Mazda, and several gold finches who eat
at our thistle feeder - members of the Goldfarbs- Harvey and Sheila.

3. What is the funniest or worst thing any of your pets have ever done?
Baruch, the Beagle, many years ago, had something in his mouth which
he brought into the house one Mother's Day, while I was getting
breakfast ready before leaving for church. I coaxed him out from under
the piano and lo, and behold, he had a dead bird in his mouth!! "Happy
Mother's Day and look what I got you!!" he seemed to think. Shudder.
It was all I could do to get him to take it back outside and drop it.
He buried it and noticed I was watching him and promptly dug it back
up and wanted to bring it back in. Eventually, he dropped outside the
back door and LH had to dispose of it.
Jazz likes to eat dried poop - whether it's his own of Jett's, I don't
know. That's just plain nasty!

4. Who is/was your favorite pet?
That would be Earl, our very first greyhound. He was my soulmate. He
was all mine. We volunteered at the Children's Hospital for 4 years
until he turned 11 and it got to be too much to stand for 2 hours.
Earl would spoon next to me in bed and knew exactly when I feel asleep
and then would get off the bed and sleep on the couch. In his old age,
we eventually, had to get him to get off the bed. Try sleeping in a
queen size bed with your spouse and a large greyhound who took up as
much space as a person!

5. How did you train your different pets?
The Beagle went to puppy class for 6 weeks and it cost $35.00, in
those days. He learned to sit. That was about it. He hardly came when
he was called - ever with his nose to the ground, except when there
was food involved. The greys were fairly easy. We just let them out
several times and they picked up that they go potty outside. Usually,
they all had one accident of both kinds, but then that was it.
With Jazz, who liked to rip up magazines and catalogues off the coffee
table, we crated him, once when we left the house. The next time we
crated him, he bent several wires of his cage and never went back in
again. He's gotten so he hasn't touched a catalogue in months -
nothing in it for him to order!!

BONUS: Picture of a pet or one you wish you could have.
Since, I'm having trouble being able to post a picture, go to
my June 25, 2010 post and you'll see both my greys!