Animals

        I remember so fondly the pets we had in our home when we were growing up. Pets provide such comfort, entertainment and love to families. Here are three of the ones from my childhood whose memories I particularly cherish.

Freckles, our beagle. We named him Freckles because he had freckles on his tummy. What a great dog he was so, friendly to everyone. I don’t know exactly when we got him, but from this photo below, it must have been before 1960. I remember he was kind of a fussy eater. We would try all sorts of different dog foods, and even if he liked it, he wouldn’t like it for long. I know our dad really loved that dog. 

Freckles and Bob in our yard in Brookside around 1960

Freckles loved kids, and he loved to play outside with us. Even though he was a beagle,  which are famous for howling and  baying, I don’t remember him ever doing that. I don’t know if we got him as a puppy or not, although I suspect not. Seems like all the pets we had were given to us from people hoping to find good homes for them. I can’t see my dad paying much money for a pet! Our youngest brother Roger really, really loved that dog!

Freckles in the backyard in Brookside

I don’t know how old Freckles was when he died. I don’t think he was very old. One morning when we were all getting ready for school and I was getting on the high school bus, Freckles was outside, and he got attacked by two large dogs that were running wild. I was devastated, and even worse was that I didn’t really know his fate until I got home from high school that afternoon. But my brothers told me that it was horrible. I’m glad I didn’t see it!

Freckles and Roger about 1963 or 64

Sheba, our siamese cat. What a beauty she was. We must have also gotten her shortly after we moved to Brookside in 1957. She definitely was “the Queen of Sheba”. She and Freckles must have co-existed together for a few years. I don’t remember any real problems with them. But she definitely was the boss.

close-up of Sheba, showing her blue eyes

        She was and indoor/outdoor cat. Weirdly I don’t even remember a littler box in the house, although maybe it wasn’t my job to take care of it! Sheba would always be bringing “offerings’ to our doorstep, like birds or small critters. Strangely we weren’t worried about her going outside. She always returned. She liked to sleep on my bed during the day. She would burrow under the blankets, and the only way you knew she was there was by the round circle of her body all curled up. She was a beautiful cat.

Sheba, stretched out on the floor

When our parents retired, and moved to North Carolina in the summer of 1976, they took Sheba with them of course. She kept up her ways of going outside at night, or whenever she felt like it! One morning, a few years after they moved there, she went out as usual, but she didn’t come home. My folks were devastated. We don’t know what happened to her, which is very sad, but it was in a pretty rural area, so it was hard to know. She was at least 18 years old or more when she disappeared, so she had a good long life for a cat. I still miss her though.

Sheba, curled up on sofa, as she loved to do.

Sheba and Carol in NC, around 1978

       A few years before my folks moved to NC, they adopted a very cute dog, that we named Kerry. The vet said he looked like a Kerry Blue Terrier. I don’t know Kerry’s story before he came to live with us, but I believe he was a stray that friends of ours found. They couldn’t keep him, so my folks took him in. 

The only photo I have of our dog Kerry

He was such a sweet dog, but let me tell you, Sheba did not think he was all that cute. She had been queen of the house for many years. Most of the time they just ignored each other, but once in a while (and I think it was Sheba) they really went at it. They would chase each other all around the house and up and down the stairs, I think Kerry just wanted to play, but Sheba would have none of that. They were a riot to watch. It would usually end with Sheba taking quite a swipe at Kerry with her paws, and he would accept defeat. I felt pretty bad for him.  I know my folks didn’t take him to NC with them, so either he passed away, or another friend took him in before they moved. 

    These pets still provide beautiful and nostalgic memories for me. They were an important and loving part of our family during my childhood.