Cats, dogs, and other pets

When you are are on the road like we are now, you have some time to think about things and appreciate what you have and what you had. I'm talking about pets, here, not anything else. My first pet was a cat, specifically a Siamese named Coffee. She was a lovely cat, pretty, loving, playful, but very noisy. Ever heard one when she wants something or she is unhappy about something? She will let you know. a yowl that sounds like a cow in labor, a baby with a wet diaper, a child in pain. Boy, it makes you want to satisfy what ever it is is wrong with her. She did not want to be downstairs, but upstairs at night she kept everyone awake because she wanted to play. There would be things that go bump in the night, crash in the sink, scratching, thumping, squeeking, and you would go running wondering what in the world was that noise only to see a streaking brown furry animal disappearing into a hiding place where she knew she was safe. There were many sleepless nights with Coffee and with Dad working late at the plant, he needed his sleep. Coffee found a new home with a lady next door where I could visit her.
The next project was a pair of rabbits when I was about 10. I built a hutch to house them and bought two bunnies with the idea to have little bunnies. I named them Ozzie and Harriet. Well we put them together and they hated each other so much that they had knock down drag out fights and I found the smaller one wounded, so I had to build another hutch. I had to take Harriet to the vet to have her wounds tended to and to my dismay and surprise Harriet was actually a Harry. That is why they couldn't get along. When Ozzie wanted to make love, Harry wanted no part of it. Then the little boy next door threw used motor oil on them for some reason and that caused them to lose their hair. Nothing uglier than hairless bunnies. I remember that they got loose somehow, and I suspect that the same little boy was also guilty of that so we had to let them go, too. They were really hard to catch.
Then I had a dog named Kola. Dad worked for Oregon Dairy and picked up milk cans from farmers and delivered them to the dairy for pasteurization and delivery to homes in Mt. Morris and Oregon, IL. One of his farmer customers had a litter of pups and Dad brought home this little fuzzy puppy that looked like a Koala bear. He was my pal and my friend from 1948 until I went to college in 1957. He was a great dog. I had a paper route and he knew the route better than I did. I delivered the Rockford Morning Star in the morning before school. I'd get up at 5am, Mom would fix me oatmeal (which I hated and Kola loved) and she would go back to bed before I left the house. Kola, fortified with oatmeal, would sit patiently while I folded all my papers, put them in my bag, got on my bike and off we would go to get the news out to the citizens of east Mt. Morris, Kola leading the way. One stop was The Clover Farm store (whatever happened to them?) where Mr. Hazzard would be behind the meat counter grinding hamburger and cutting steaks for the next day. He would always have a tasty meatball for Kola while I bought a Twinkie for my breakfast. It was a great substitute for oatmeal. Twinkies then were 6 cents. Do you know now that they are 99 cents or more and aren't nearly as good? Kola didn't get any of them. They are not good for dogs. He really despised cats. Any cat was no good in his book. They should all live in trees like squirrels, and that is where he endeavoured to chase them when he saw one. Joannie McNett lived across the street and had a nice cat who sunned herself on the porch every day. In the side yard was a big apple tree and Kola would start slowly sneaking up on the sleeping cat on the porch until he got to the middle of the street, then barking furiously at full speed, startle the cat and chase her up the apple tree. This was a daily game enjoyed by him. One day the cat had had enough of this game and decided to stand her ground with her fur on end and hissing like a deflating tire. Kola put on the brakes, did a reverse course change and with his tail between his legs headed home like a streak. Last time for fun with the cat. When I went away to college, Dad took care of Kola for me, but he was lonely for some one to play with and be a companion to, and one day he went away and Dad never saw him again. At least that's the story that was told to me.
I will continue this next time, thanks for reading.