My Trails into the Past

Updated 10/2/25 We have had only Australian Shepherds as pets, as they are my husband’s favorite dogs. Our youngest daughter loves dogs of all kinds. Sidney. He was our last dog. He came to us when he was about 9 months old. He had been living his entire life alone in a backyard, so he was not well-socialized. He would bark at anything, especially things with wheels, though not at cars. Whether it was a bicycle, skateboard, stroller, or motorcycle, he would go wild with barking. He was also very hard to control when going for a walk. My husband was careful to keep away from other people and not let anyone pet him. One day, he was not well, and the vet told us he had a larger tumor in his abdomen. It was a sad day for all of us, especially our daughter, with whom we facetimed, so she could say goodbye to him. The photo is Sidney’s last visit at the vet. Toby. He was a red-merle and very beautiful. Many people commented on him. He and I took walks every morning before I went to work...

My two grandmothers enjoyed having pets. I’m sure they cherished the interaction that pets give to the pet owner. Nana’s Birds My Nana, Anne M. (Sullivan) Hork, had canaries in her later years. She was fortunate that these birds would sing and I think that is what gave her great pleasure. Luckily for me, I have heard them sing, too. She always had yellow canaries and they would live in the kitchen near the dining table. I especially remember her having a bird when she lived at 25 Ninth Avenue in San Mateo. Her kitchen window faced east which was a great spot. After asking family, we decided that she had named the bird “Sunny” which is a wonderful name for a bright yellow bird. I do not have any photos of Nana’s birds but this is a good example. Mam-Ma’s Dogs My Mam-ma, Pansy L. (Lancaster) Johnston, on the other hand, loved having dogs as pets. Some dogs I remember are Thunder (Pomeranian), Pierre (poodle), Molly Brown (Chihuahua), and her last dog, Angel (poodle mix). I am s...

Another great theme this week. Thanks, Janice, for suggesting it. Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!): 1) What were your family pets? What were their names? How long did they live? What stories do you have about them? 2) Tell us in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or on Facebook or Google+. Please leave a comment on this post with a link to your post. I wish I had scanned images of all of the pets I had as a child. My first pet that was truly mine, was a white cat named George "Sparky" Anderson. He was a really kick, by liking to sleep at the foot of my bed under my covers. My mother gave us a really old cat when we got married named, Patty. She wouldn't clean herself and Norman had to give her baths, which she didn't like. She had teeth problems and we had some surgery done. Then one day she disappeared and we never found her. That was our last cat. Since then we've had dogs...