Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
The secret life of pets
Last night we were browsing through either Netflix looking for something else to watch besides the regular fare on cable TV. There was a documentary about pets and how they enrich our lives. We settled on that, since we are both dog lovers and have had pets most of our lives. Since I had kids, my assortment is a little broader than Jan’s, and included several dogs, a lop ear bunny, a smart-ass parrot, a cat, and Chloe the crab. I’ll say more about Chloe in the “Irresponsible pet owner behavior” section.
The first segment filmed mostly about rabbits and rats and cockatiels. All three of these animals make endearing pets and are known to be pretty smart creatures. One woman taught two rats how to drive little battery powered cars. The featured cockatiels were accomplished dancers, seemingly loving music and especially loving a good beat. The bunnies were cute and affectionate. Apparently I missed most of episode two, having fallen asleep on the couch.
When I was a child in Mexico, we somehow acquired a parrot and named him Pancho. I don’t know what brand of parrot he was, but he was green and had yellow and red on his head. Pancho loved being rude to people. Whoever walked past his cage earned the name “Burro” if it was a man, and “Burra” for a woman. How he knew the difference is beyond me but he was never wrong. Pancho especially loved sips of martini’s, along with the adult humans in the house. And, when the great earthquake of 1950-something happened in Mexico City, Pancho spent a few days before the event chewing all the way through his 2 by 4 perch.
There was always a dog in the house. One was a cocker spaniel that my parents got when they lived in India. His name was Rajah. He loved playing with bottle caps. He would gently carry them in his mouth so he could play his favorite game that involved our pool. Rajah loved to go to the edge and drop a bottle cap into the water and watch it sink. Often he was so mesmerized by this trick that he would fall into the pool as he watched. He never learned not to lean so far over the pool, so he was wet a lot of the time.
Chloe was a hermit crab that Jackie got when she was in college in California. One Summer she flew home carrying Chloe gently in her bra. Chloe had an aquarium with various toys that she could climb on. During the day there was a warming lamp that shined on her because apparently crabs don’t have very good circulation and they get cold. (If you can’t watch the TV ads for abused animals, then stop reading and go to the next paragraph.) Jackie went off on a camping trip and left Chloe in my care. One night I forgot to turn off the warming lamp… The result was tragic, and Chloe was no more.
When I was a student nurse in St. Louis I lived in a run down apartment building near Deaconess Hospital. The sweetest red-haired dog must have been a stray and kept coming to my back door until I finally gave in and adopted him. His name was RedDog – clever, I know. We spent many happy years together. My favorite RedDog story is the one where we were packing the car to go to Florida for a 10 week SCUBA instructor class. Red watched the comings and goings of things into the trunk of the car. At one point, I looked out the window and saw him lying down behind a rear tire – apparently if we were leaving, we either had to take him or run over him.
When I first met Jan, she had two long haired dachshunds, Kate and Puppy. Puppy was the most soulful dog I have ever met. To look in her eyes was to see God reflected back. She was sweet and cuddly among other endearing things. One day I was packing a roller bag to go on a short trip. I left the room to get some laundry. When I came back into the bedroom Puppy was lying very quietly inside my suitcase, I guess on the off chance that I would take her with me.
I have so many other stories about the wonderful animals that have graced my life. Not enough for a book, but enough memories of love exchanged between us creatures for me to feel blessed.