I remember

The Friday Five invites us to pay tribute to our most memorable pets... so, here goes!

I regret not having photos of these pets to share with you. I will try to do them justice with descriptive language.

1. Our current patriarch is Chase, our 11 year old golden retriever. He is a good dog, though late in maturing. He is a dark golden, lovable, playful, not especially bright, but makes up for lack of acuity with a large, pettable head. These days, he sleeps more than he cavorts, but still has spunk.

2. Prior to Chase, there was Padzie, a golden retriever I picked from the litter before DH and I were married or engaged or even dating. Good friends help each other pick out dogs. Padzie was so smart and fun and taught our daughter how to walk, by standing beside her when she was a toddler and allowing her to use him as a walker/toy/guide. Padzie (which was DH's nickname in college and means "pal" or "buddy") was a gem. He left us too soon, because of illness.

3. We've had pets other than dogs, but we're dog people, and that's that. John the Hamster was a Christmas gift to our daughter when she was six. We were the go-to family for keeping the classroom guinea pig over holidays, so we thought we would do well to have our very own rodent. (Honestly, I thought we'd do fine. DH, sage that he is, thought otherwise. "No rodents! No guinea pigs with clawed feet! No! No!") But John the Hamster came to abide with us for a season. His nocturnal tendencies were just too much for some of us, combined with his nasty habit of chewing through plastic and unlatching his cage and running loose in the laundry room. One day, John was gone. I cannot tell you anymore, because I am in the witness protection program.
We had a guinea pig named Pinky that proved to be almost less lovable than John the Hamster. These are not happy memories. Back to dogs.

4. My first dog after seminary and on my own as an adult was Jefferson, known to the college campus where I was the chaplain, as Jeff. Jeff was all black, a mixed breed combination of beagle and black Labrador. He was a very good boy. I loved Jeff and, when I left the college where I served as a chaplain/faculty member, I was given a golden retriever named Simon. Jeff, Simon and I made a great trio until DH and I married. There's another story, too sad to blog.

5. Growing up, the sweetest mutt (a collie/shepherd mix) was ours in Raggil (Scottish for rascal). I think our first pets are very important and formative. Raggil was a sweet, sweet dog.


Nice to remember....

photo of someone's good dog.