Pet Personalities

A National Geographic article I read recently, on how greater intelligence is being attributed to animals, got me thinking about how smart my pets have been.

I have had a lot of pets over the years, but there have also been times in my life, when I had none.

Anyway, the article made me go through my life and review my different pets and see how much merit this article had.

My first pet was Tippy, a collie pup my dad bought for me, pretty much, right after I was born. He got bigger faster obviously and when I could crawl/walk, this tolerant dog let me ride him. There are a fair amount of photos showing us together everywhere. I may not remember much from those early years, but I remember Tippy.

I never doubted Tippy was a smart dog from stories my father told me about my canine buddy. He rescued me when I fell through some ice on a pond when I was around three. That is a story my folks told me over and over–as did other relatives in Virginia where we lived. If I have it right, he jumped in and got me on his back and climbed back on the shore. I don’t know how he did it but it was probably a good thing I was used to riding him. 

Okay, definitely Tippy was as smart as any dog tested in the story. I am living proof.

Sadly, when my folks split up, Tippy was not allowed where we were moving. I was four so I didn’t have much of a say in our breakup. Neighbors who knew him well, gave Tippy his new home. 

We moved to Texas and for a couple years, I had no pet.

That changed when my father remarried. My stepmother had a fox terrier/beagle mix who came to live with us. Pebbles was in my life from six to 21. 

She was not the only pet in our home. I had tree frogs, snakes turtles and lizards. I was quite the amphibian collector for a while.

I had a dog or two but for whatever reason, they didn’t last and I have few memories of them.

I don’t think I can gauge the intelligence of any of the reptiles I caught, because as often or not, my folks would make me set them free in a matter of days after their capture.

In 4th grade, I got a pup who was white and I named her Angel. 

I loved this dog immediately, but at a way too early age, she got distemper. My dad told me she had to be put to sleep. I refused to believe it for a couple days until I saw she was not able to walk any longer. I remember crying and crying that night. The next morning I told my dad he could put her to sleep.

I guess the decision of having to put a pup down weighed on me and I didn’t want another dog or cat to replace Angel. I went without any pets for a few years.    

Then going into 7th grade, I inherited some gerbils from a girl I was crushing on and also two guinea pigs. These two gerbils Lucy and Linus produced a lot of babies. The original two were pretty cool but by the time 9th grade hit, I was done with my rodent phase.

I will point out, the gerbils were fairly smart in their three story cage, but guinea pigs not so much. I didn’t miss any of these guys when they were gone.

They were replaced when I fell for this scruffy alley cat kitten who had the body and howl of a Siamese, but marked like a tabby. Buffy was with me for a few years. She even had a litter of gorgeous kittens, which was crazy since Buffy was far from a beauty. She was a smart cat too. The article must have had her in mind.

I had not really been a cat person before her, but Buffy is still remembered as one of my favorite pets.

After she was gone, Pebbles was the only pet in my life for a while. I became less fond of Pebbles as she aged. She barked at everything including me when I was trying to come in quietly at around 2 or 3 a.m.

My folks were always cool about my early morning arrivals, but there would be some comment about me coming in late.

Curse you Pebbles.

Actually I don’t mean it. The old dog lived into her 20s but she didn’t get around well in the end. My dad and I were working on our cars in the driveway and Pebbles was lying nearby. I got up to move my car and as I was doing so, I saw to my horror, my father ran over Pebbles. She didn’t get up quick enough. It was really terrible, first because I saw the whole thing happen and second it was like a member of the family died.

It was one of the few times I saw my father cry.

Yeah in her early years, a smart dog. Later years, much less so.

In my twenties, I attempted to have a pet a few times. 

A ferret named Frankie lasted three or four months, but I just could not deal with her rambunctiousness. I will point out ferrets are smart as hell if Frankie is any indicator. Maybe sometimes too smart. 

I received a cockatiel as a birthday present. Henry turned out to be a Henrietta and although she could talk a little, I was not enchanted with all her squawking. I gave her to a woman that loved her. When I would visit, I would be amazed at how much this bird could say.

Obviously, I was a lame teacher and it was a smart bird.

A few years went by, and when I got married we received a Tonkinese kitten from my mother-in-law. My mother got into the act and gave us another feline named Patty Patches.

They were casualties in our  divorce because neither of us could take them. My awesome sister took both.

Ranger, the kitten, turned into one of the coolest cats I have ever met and my sister kept him that way. Patty Patches ran away after living with my sister for a few months. Not such a smart cat.

A solid amount of years went by and I stayed petless.

I took in a stray kitten in Taiwan and raised it in my apartment. Lisa was something else. This little beast could  catch birds that got near my windows. I am still not sure how she did it, but the remains and feathers don’t lie. My sister, who was living in a large house with acreage, took care of Lisa while I moved around the world a bit.

When I bought my house in Saratoga, Lisa ran away the week before I moved into my house. I guess she had no intention of dealing with Wyoming winters. There are some who would say she was smart.

My first year in Wyoming, I decided I wanted a dog.  My nextdoor neighbors, who knew I was looking for a dog, gave me one of their Samoyed pups from a fresh litter of 12. I didn’t really want such a big dog, but she was sweet and smart.

Sara (yeah, I named her after Saratoga) was also neurotic.

I cared about her, but I was not attached. I got a job in Taiwan and back I went.

My awesome sister took Sara and that was a bit of a disaster. Sara got pregnant because I hadn’t gotten her fixed before I left.

I have yet to live that one down.

Sara eventually went to a guy who had a farm and adored her. 

Cool with me. No doubt Sara was a smart dog, she just was not the right dog for me.

I was pretty much done with wanting any pets. I was just too busy to take care of one.

Then this little black pup came up to me on a busy side street in Taichung, Taiwan. He was cute as hell and lost. Thus started my real understanding of loving a pet.

Shadow lived with me in Taiwan for about seven years while I had my restaurant. I always said he was one smart pup to walk up to a guy who had endless supplies of meat and bones. He was so intelligent, it was like he could read my mind. He did tons of cool tricks and I could not have had a better male pup.

Sadly when we moved to Hanna, Wyoming, on one of our runs, he ended up getting into some gopher poison. I didn’t realize it until it was too late.

I was crushed! I doubted I could ever get another dog.

A year later, an older female Newfoundland dog, proved me wrong.

Cassie and I connected from day one. I rescued her and she just knew me.

There has to be something to how intelligent animals are–she was uncanny in so many ways. Cassie lived to be about 16 or 17 and then passed away in my arms. I sobbed like a baby as I watched her leave this world.

Again, the National Geographic article was accurate regarding how intuitive dogs can be to their masters. 

The first year of Cassie being gone, I was lonely but I felt a pet was not something I should take on. 

Fate definitely can change things.

At a BBQ, this little feral kitten, ended up in my hands. I really did not want her and planned on giving her away when she got bigger. However, Scooter is one good mouser. So I gave her a job in my home.

After six years, I will admit she has me wrapped around her paw. A big part of the reason is because she is so damn smart. She has trained me–I can tell what her different meows mean. 

Really.

The National Geographic article is right about how intelligent animals are, if pets in my life are any indicator. Many species are way more intelligent than we as humans give them credit. 

I have one cat, I am sure, who would tell me this is the gospel truth, if I could discern that meow.