When she was a young girl living in the Lancashire village of Horwich, near Bolton, in the North West of England, my mother had a very frightening encounter with a dog.
What exactly happened to un-nerve her she couldnt, or wouldnt, say other than that it was a very large dog and she was a very small girl.
The incident traumatised her so much that it gave her a lifelong fear of dogs, which was such a shame because over on the southern shores of Ireland my fathers family always had dogs. His favourite was an Airedale called Cara (Gaelic for friend), who was his loyal companion throughout his school and university years.
My father respected my mothers fear of dogs, so there was never one in our household.
Growing up in County Cavan up near the Ulster border, we had a series of cats. They had a charmed life altogether, living lived off the fat of the land and providing us with many kittens.
I loved the cats, but I longed for a dog.
Each Christmas and birthday all I ever wanted was a dog. We never had one, so I befriended everyone elses, from the lean greyhounds next door, to the portly retriever owned by the equally portly parish priest as well as every mongrel that roamed the streets. I loved too the travellers bandana-wearing lurchers. Released from the ropes tethering them to their caravans, they had great fun chasing our car when we went for a drive.
Then there were the amazingly clever terriers, enchanting their audiences with all those tricks when the circus came to town. Given half a chance, I would have emptied my bank account to buy one of those.
I swore I would have a dog.. or two.. or as many as I could afford, when I grew up.
No animals allowed
A generation on, my first husband didnt like dogs and wouldnt have one in our Liverpool home. But then he didnt like cats either. He just tolerated them, so when Andromeda -a friends Persian – gave birth, we had one of her kittens.
Fleabag was a beautiful gold and white fluffy creature who thankfully, lived to a great age and brought much joy to everyone she met. I think its so sad when parents dont allow their children to have a pet. They miss out on such a lot.
Thankfully, my second husband was a real animal-lover.
As a boy growing up in Derbyshire, Joes family had never been without several cats and dogs. The dogs were always big and boisterous; the cats cute and cuddly. And apparently they all got on very well together. Living on the edge of the Peak District, these animals had plenty of space to roam around in.
When the family moved to Sussex and later to Greater Manchester, the animals all moved with them. They must have needed a large removal van, because the dogs were invariably Great Danes and Boxers; both of which breeds Joe loved dearly until the day he died.
Heavily-pregnant Fleabag
When we first met, he had just lost the last of his Great Danes and was deeply upset until taking on my family and the irrepressible (and heavily-pregnant) Fleabag.
On her first morning in her new home, that cat made her presence felt immediately by scooping all Joe's goldfish out of the garden pond and eating them for breakfast. Then she went straight back into the house and made her way to the breakfast room where she produced four kittens on the table.
Pudding, her big fat tabby son, was easily the most handsome. So we kept him and eventually found homes for the other three.
In adulthood Puddings attitude towards his mother was a shade Freudian, to put it mildly. He had something of an Oedipus complex (thankfully without Electra's sticky ending). Perhaps we should have renamed the pair Eedie and Ellie.
Duffy and Gonzo
Siblings Duffy and Gonzo were our first dogs. They were Labrador/German Shepherd crosses.
Fleabag and Pudding didn't think much of the idea of these two sharing their home, but chose to ignore them, on the whole. They did have the odd scrap (, but generally it worked out without bloodshed.
In the years that followed, we had several more dogs a charming little crossbreed named Gusto; Danny, the Great Dane; Ronnie, the English Bull Terrier; Scheppe, who came to us with both back legs broken and was always rather frail and the delightful little terrier Tilly-Mint, who saved my sanity when the world turned upside down.
Her sudden death last year left me confused and distraught until little Suzie (my Cairn/Border terrier cross) appeared on the scene just a few months ago.
Onwards and upwards
And so to the third generation.
At her home in Sweden, Esther went in for cats to keep her two sons company. She gave them exotic names like Barabbas and Tupac, while in the Garden of England, Arthur and Michael also introduced welcomed pets into their growing families. A rat, a cat, another cat, a dog, another dog, another cat and various goldfish all made their appearance and shared their homes with the six grandchildren growing up in Kent.
Sniffy, the white rat, was the first of Michael and Oedas pets. On his demise, Jimmy, the black and white tomcat entered their lives. He's still there, still in his prime, although now about 10 years old.
Then along came Joey, the lovely yellow Labrador, who is also, thankfully, still with them. Now too they have Luna, the sensitive little cat, who lost her baby, the silvery Syd, in a road traffic accident.
Meanwhile, Arthur and Islay loved and lost their Deefa a stunningly attractive gold and white, Border Collie. Hopefully it won't is too long before they adopt another dog.
Families are so incomplete without a pet or two to befriend the children during their growing years.
So many advantages
Pet-owning has innumerable benefits, particularly for children.
Cats and dogs make wonderful playmates. Being such good listeners and completely non-judgmental, they are ideal for children who want to share their worries with someone other than a parent or teacher.
Children with pets have been shown to cope better with family issues like separation, divorce and death than children in families without pets. Pets give unconditional love and because they need to care for every day, they teach children about responsibility.
Pet ownership has so much going for it. It's just lovely the way dogs greet you so enthusiastically every time you return to the house. Cats want nothing more than to curl up on a soft knee or cushion. Tail-wagging and purring are all the response any owner needs.
Animals also work wonders in terms of their owner's health
Stress and depression seldom last long when there are pets around. Medical research has shown that pet owners have lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and therefore are less likely to suffer from heart attacks and strokes. The act of stroking an animal is, apparently, enough to do the trick.
Dog-walking gives much-needed exercise to both owner and dog.
The world would be a very empty place without pets.
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