52 Ancestors Week 18: Pets

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 18

The theme for Week 18 is "Pets." Any tales of ancestors owning pets? How about someone with a "pet name" or who was "teacher's pet"? Record that story this week.

Cara, the most exploited cat on the Internet.

    I don't think there's anyone alive who doesn't like an animal of some kind be they furry, scaly, feathered or eight-legged. If someone doesn't like animals, I'm not sure if I could trust them. If an animal doesn't like a person, I KNOW I can't trust them! They can sense evil, you know. Then again some animals could just be trolling us for all we know. Our furry friends have their own way of doing things and the animals I've known in my life have been the same way. Join me as we follow the pawprints through time!

Cammy: Why is the human larvae squirming?

  I suppose my fascination with dogs all started when I was very little. My grandparents, Marco and Ollie, had a poodle named Cammy who only liked Marco for some strange reason. It was probably the musky aroma my father said he had. Let's go with that! Did Cammy like kids? I have no idea. She seems kind of suspicious of my brother in this picture. I would be, too. Let's be honest.

    At home, my parents had two Alaskan malamutes who for the life of me I can't find pictures of. That's okay. Just picture two big husky-like dogs chilling out in the backyard making all kinds of noise!

    That isn't to say I don't have stories about Naki and Tumi. I do. Tumi was the kind of dog who just hated being inside. It didn't matter if we had her in the garage during a blizzard or what. She would howl like a wolf if we kept her in there. The dog never liked going inside her dog house, either. Her daughter, Naki was pretty much the same way. You'd look out the window after a blizzard and see these mounds of snow move and then see these two big dogs emerge. I so need to find their pictures. They were amazing dogs!

    Tumi weighed a little over one hundred pounds and was a good sled dog from what I've been told. In the winter, she would pull my brother and I around on a sled. I obviously don't remember those trips. However, I've been told that it was quite adorable. That was just the beginning of my canine adventure!

Good doggo.

    Naki and Tumi weren't the only top dogs back in the day. There was one dog who has a very special place in my heart because he was pretty much my bodyguard. His name was Triumphant's War Boy aka Gunner and he was a very good boy.

    My Aunt Linda breeds and used to show Britannys for the longest time. When she was living with us, we had the distinct pleasure of having the thundering herd (TM) around and leading the pack was Gunner. That dog liked me and if you were a jerk, he'd probably take you down. It kinda makes me wish the malamutes were the same way. I mean they WERE bigger animals! You'd think they'd be good guard dogs and not a 40 pound bird dog.

    Even though my brother and I had dogs around us all of our lives at that point, they weren't really *OUR* dogs. They were technically my aunt's dogs. This was the case until Aunt Linda gave us one of the puppies she bred. How many people can say they had their own dog born in their house?

Rocking a "Darkwing Duck" t-shirt like
 it was 1992. (Because it was.)

    Enter Triumphant's Formal Attire aka Tux. Tux was probably the most chill and fearless dog ever. That made sense because he was descended from Gunner. We actually have his pedigree chart that proved the connection! I don't think we need sources! I mean....he was born in my house like I said.

    That dog endured the choppy waters of the Merrimack river when we went out on the boat. Then again, I don't think he was that fond of the engines because he would always nuzzle close to me as you can see in the picture.

       Beneath that cuddly veener, though, beat the heat of a champion show dog and hunter. 

    I've never actually seen Tux hunt a bird in my life. But, I've been told that he was indeed a mighty warrior.....who then calmly asked for liver snaps after a job well done. There was also this one time he stole an entire steak fillet from the counter and scarfed it down like there was no tomorrow. Hey, a dog's gotta eat, right? He was a champion show dog and yes he sired many puppies--one of whp, we kept.

Tie standing still for once in his life.

    Triumphant's Black Tie aka Tie. Ahh, this dog was the eternal puppy. He didn't have the patience for dog shows.  He never pointed out a bird. He had a permanent case of the zoomies. Whenever we had him out, he'd run around like a crazy dog. 

    He had his good points, though. He was very patient with the cat who invaded the bastion of dogdom. Though, he did get too close to him once and the cat smacked him across the nose. Tie then ran back into his kennel. Heart of a wolf, right?

   Tie had a sister, Lacie who was a bit more chill and a cousin Travis who was probably more like Tux than any of the other dogs he sired. We watched the two every once in a while and it was kind of fun watching Tux grumble at his puppies. I once said to him. "Hey. You started it."

    The dogs were all amazing and great companions. But, then came the invasion of the cats! Tie then quickly found out who really ran the house in the early 2000s. Cats invaded the bastion of dogdom and there was nothing he could do about it!

WAKANDA FOREVER!!!

      Cocoa's story is a bit of a strange one. We found him at our doorstep when he was just a kitten. He was so tiny and he apparently wandered up our driveway. He wasn't a feral kitten because he was friendly toward people and he took to using a litter box right away. 

    As far as we knew, no one in the neighborhood was missing a kitten. So, Cocoa stayed with us for a good decade. While he was here, he made sure everyone knew whose house it was. He was especially close with my mom and me. For some reason he was always skittish around my father. If animals could tell stories, I kind of wonder which stories Cocoa would tell because of the way we found him.

    Cocoa grew up and was a big kitty. We've never been able to figure out what breed of cat he was. We just knew that he was the perfect Halloween cat with his dark fur coat and green eyes. His fur wasn't completely black, though. There was a dark brown underfur. Still, he was a good boy. In fact, all of our pets have been boys until 2012!

ROAARRR!!!

    Cara is the latest furry resident of the house and like Tux and Tie she has her own pedigree. She is, as far as we know, 100% Maine coon. Noone is 100% anything. However, it would be cool to send her DNA off to a company that does DNA testing for animals. Would she go for it? Uhh....It takes two people to brush her. What do you think? Four paws become eight. 

    In retrospect, she and Cocoa were very much like the dogs I've mentioned. Both tended to be very loyal and friendly. They also never bothered the Christmas tree at all. Strange, I know. You always hear about cats knocking over the tree and yet Cocoa and Cara would just sleep under there for hours. 

    Animals definitely make for great companions regardless if they're feathered, furry or scaly. They are indeed an important part of your family history because in the end they are family. They may not talk like you and me. However, they certainly do communicate and have attitudes all their own. So. here's to the furry friends in our lives both past and present. They may not speak, but, they definitely add a lot to your family history! 

See ya next time!