MY KIDS

In my life I have had so many animals, mainly dogs and cats, that I do not think I can count them all. We had at least five dogs when I was growing up. As an adult I have had 19 dogs and multiple cats. They have been my buddies and very important to me. As I update this page, I am sad to report that all of my dogs have died. My present animals are all cats, though the number that I now have has dwindled from the number I had in 2020. Only Miss Kitty, Miss Tee, Kit-Kat, Bonnie, Clyde and Bugsy are still living. Every one of my “kids” has been special to me and I really miss the ones who have died.

MEMORIES BEGIN . . .

Snuggles I with my me and my brothers

THE FIRST SNUGGLES

Snuggles I with me and my brothers

Snuggles II in my arms when I was about 12

THE SECOND SNUGGLES

Snuggles II in my arms when I was 11 or 12

During my childhood, my family had several dogs that were named Laddie, Snuggles, another Snuggles, Lady, and another Lady. I have no memory of Laddie as we had him when I was very young. I am not aware that I even have pictures of him, only a few stories. We bred the second Snuggles and she had several puppies including the two dogs we kept and named Lady. Unfortunately, the first Lady died at a very young age of distemper even though she had been vacinated. When I was 11 or 12 and living in Atlantic, Iowa, my brother had a little dog named Sparky and we befriended a German Shepard dog that we called Shep.

The dogs I have had as an adult were King, Rocky, Duchess, Duke, Daisy, Junior, Boog-A-Loo, Jody, Buffy, Tasha, Bear, Blondie, Tootsie, Snookum, Bo, Zeppelin, Parker, and Jack and Jake. It is impossible to write about my dogs without mentioning Brownie. She was not my dog but was the mother of many of my dogs. She lived next door to me on McGee and over the years seldom missed a season without having a litter of puppies. I have also had an attachment to a few of her puppies that I did not take in. In particular, there was Lassie who I gave to a neighbor.

The first cat that I ever had was Roadside and, later, Marble showed up. My real cat experience began in 2004 when a pregnant cat came to my house and before I knew Momma Kitty was there, I found two of her kittens in one of my barns. In the two years that followed, she left me with five litters of 20 kittens and two of her boyfriends. Here are a few of their names: Barnie, LaCoal, Possum, Boo, One A.M., Spike, Miss Tee, Midnight, Miss Kitty, Tiger, Tammy, Oscar, Felix and Button. In Momma Kitty's third litter, she had three male kitties which I named Patch, Dos and Tres, who remained feral throughout their very short lives. As I update this page in January of 2024, Momma Kitty and most of her kittens have died, generally of old age conditions. Presently, only Miss Kitty and Miss Tee are still living though they are well into their 18th year.

After Momma Kitty showed up and left me with this huge cat family, it seems like several years went by and then several yellow cats appeared. Only two stayed long enough to become part of my cat family. The first, I named Yeller and the second I named Tawny, although Yeller had a more tawny color and Tawny had a more yellow color. Yeller became very friendly and very much a part of my family, but Tawny never got super friendly, though he stayed around for breakfast and supper every day. Unfortunately, Yeller's kidneys failed and he died and Tawny began to look ill and stopped coming for food in April of 2020.

Of course, as to be expected even more cats have come my way, four to be exact. First, in late 2018, three suddenly arrived at my house who I think came from down the street. I think that the man who was feeding them died and his daughter decided to not take care of them, so she stopped feeding them and they found a gullible source for food and a permanent home at my house. I named them Bonnie, Clyde and Bugsy. Then shortly after I moved into my new home in December of 2020, another yellow cat came running down the hill behind my house and stopped there. It was a wise decision on his part as he, too, now has a permanent home. His name is now Kit-Kat.

More information and pictures of my dogs and cats can be seen in the stories I have written about each one of them individually or as a group. If there a dog or cat that is shown as a link, then I probably have a story and probably pictures of them. Pictures that have more than one animal in them generally are in my Kids Gallery. Take a Look!

When I was a preteen and eary teen, we had a couple of parakeets, but I cannot remember their names and have no pictures! Oh, and when I was in high school I even had a few snakes, but I have no pictures and do not know their names! And, of course, where I live now, my property is home to many deer, raccoons, opossums, snakes, birds and other animals. More information and pictures of the wildlife in my neighborhood can be seen on Area Nature page.

Last revised on January 23, 2024.