Our beloved pets are there for us

Over the years there’s been one thing you’ve kept writing about – the pets you love. When life becomes more difficult because of daily pain, pets can make us calmer and loved. They offer love no matter what, comfort and understanding. We have to keep moving for them whether we want it or not.
Many of us fell in love with animals while watching films in the movie theater gazing up at the screen eating popcorn. Others have pets in their families and grew up with them; loving them, playing with them and being friends with them. Maybe you remember Roy Rogers and Dale Evans galloping across the screen on Trigger with Bullet running beside him. Poor old Trigger is long gone now but I hope he rests in peace. I don’t remember the name of Dale’s horse. I am not as old as to remember Rin Tin Tin’s first movies, but I know his American West movies where he is jumping from rock to rock chasing bad guys in black clothes. I understand why Rin Tin Tin became one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood.
Then there was beautiful, poor Lassie, having many homes and owners in the movies and later on TV. No wonder she couldn’t find her way home. But our love for that dog lasts until we get to know that there were many dogs and bitches playing one because each of them was good at one thing. We nervously watch Savage Sam run after the Indians and almost stopped watching movies when Ol’Yeller died. My daughter still doesn’t watch pet movies because of that film. You may have also watched and loved movies with Sounder, Shaggy Dog and Lady and Tramp. They had lovely puppies, one of them Scamp, loved by my grandchildren till these days. Who can forget a woman in the pound singing “He’s a Tramp” and calling him “What a mate.” Another memorable scene is dinner at Tony’s Italian restaurant  and the love shown by Tramp just by rolling a meatball toward his beloved lady. And the Dalmatians, all 100 of them, were they black dogs with white spots, or white dogs with black spots? Many other will stay in our hearts, like Benji, Beethoven, and television stars like Frasier’s Jack Russell, Eddie.
 The dog lying on the bed is “Herb”
You probably remember your first pet and how you got it. It usually began by asking, “Oh, come on Mom, Dad.” We used every emotion to hear yes. Our parents knew we were inventing ideas just to get what we want; we needed to love and have a furry little creature, dog or cat. There was a place in our hearts waiting to be filled in by the love towards a little, soft, friendly animal. That was when we couldn’t be better at begging and our parents at saying “Absolutely not! We have no money for a pet in the house. A dog would bite everything, cats scratch beds and cupboards. They both would pee on the floor. We won’t have a home anymore and by the way, your sister is allergic.”
We would answer, “Okay, she can go live with Grandma, but I want a dog.”
And Mom or Dad would say, “But you don’t know much about pets and how much work they can be.”
Ah, ha. And then it started. We knew they were starting to give up. ““I’ll take care of him. I’ll give him food every day and fresh water every hour. Every money I get I’ll spend on his food. I’ll bathe him and brush him every day. I promise.” Our parents finally gave up probably because they also dreamed of a little face licker. “We have enough things to look after, we can’t have another. And also, where would he sleep?” You see, they started talking to themselves. It was just a matter of time until we got one.
“I’ll get a job after school and do my homework at night. I don’t need to sleep,” we would say. Mom would answer “Well, I don’t know. I’ll talk to your father about it.” Hurray, we had her here, even though she didn’t think I was serious about not sleeping at all.
Yes, there is nothing more wonderful than puppies, their sweet breath, fluffy hair and loving eyes. Our cats were just as lovely sleeping in our arms purring nicely. We got a pet we dreamed of, now, time to name it. As children, we first thought of movie or TV names like  Rex, King, Queenie, Prince, Duke or Duchess. Then names for mates: Shep, Skip, Boy, Sport, Pal and Boots. Cuddling our beloved friend in bed we thought of such names as Trixie, Fifi, Gigi, Brunhilda, Fritz and Claude. Finally, we wanted the name to be frightening to our neighbors so we thought of Fang, Kong, Killer, Tiger and Jaws.
I don’t remember anyone calling their friends anything realistic like, Flea Hotel, Piddler, Puddles, Constant Barker, Slipper Chewer, Car Chaser, Cat Chaser, Dog Chaser, Bite and Run, Wet Nose, Garbage Disposer, Howler, or even Defecator, Leg Rider or the Urinator. Even now I wouldn’t name a dog any of these names.
Little by little our pet started to win place in our and our parents’ hearts. A dog would find its way to our bed and Dad’s favorite chair. Dad would give him bits of food under the table and everybody would wonder why the dog doesn’t want to go lie down during dinner. Mom would give him those scraps instead of putting them to the bin. Once you loved a pet as a child, you love pets your whole life. We get love and friendship from them. People may not help us, but they will always be there for us.

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