My Mom, the animal lover
Mother's Day is celebrated in many ways by many people and their moms.
I can attribute my love and respect for animals directly back to my parents, especially my Mom and for that I tell her I love her every single day.
There were always animals in my home growing up. Mostly dogs, but occasionally I was allowed to own a cat. My dad didn't like cats, but Mom was always willing to let us adopt a stray.
Mom's first dog when she was a little girl was a pit bull named Ginger. Ginger was a boy, but he was ginger colored so Mom got to name him. She was 7 years old. She taught Ginger how to retrieve the newspaper and all the other tricks kids showed dogs how to do back then. Of course, this was when kids and dogs seemed destined to go everywhere together. Ginger went to the beach in Clearwater, to the lakes in Lakeland, and everywhere my Mom went. He slept with her at night and she says she cried like a baby when he died her senior year in high school.
The other dogs in the household were cocker spaniels, which my grandmother loved, but Ginger was always Mom's dog.
Even as the wife of a career military man with 3 kids, my mother had a dog. The thought never entered her head to give up one or not to have one. The dog which stayed with us the longest was Blackie, who was a border collie mix. He traveled from Oklahoma to Florida, back to Georgia, then back to Florida when my father retired. Mom was the caretaker and when Blackie died after 17 years, my mother cried and cried.
There were two other dogs in the house at that time, Bigfoot and Ping. There were always dogs in my house.
After Daddy died, Mom let the pack whittle down to one dog, which she always kept until about 6 months ago. When her last little dog, Jordan crossed the Bridge, she made the decision she was not able to care for another dog full time. She is being cared for by Hospice now, but is still in her own home so my sister and I have made a pact to take our dogs over to visit as often as possible. Since my sister lives next door, that is not a problem for her, and Buzz rides with me when I go to Lakeland to visit.
So Mom gets to visit with Romeo, a rescued Peke, Wilbur, a rescued Shih Tzu, Hickory, a rescued Hound/Labrador and my Buzz.
So on this Mother's Day, which may be the final one I get to talk to my Mom, I thank her for many things. Most of all, I thank her for blessing me with a love of animals. I wish all kids could be so lucky as to have a Mom like mine.
I can attribute my love and respect for animals directly back to my parents, especially my Mom and for that I tell her I love her every single day.
There were always animals in my home growing up. Mostly dogs, but occasionally I was allowed to own a cat. My dad didn't like cats, but Mom was always willing to let us adopt a stray.
Mom's first dog when she was a little girl was a pit bull named Ginger. Ginger was a boy, but he was ginger colored so Mom got to name him. She was 7 years old. She taught Ginger how to retrieve the newspaper and all the other tricks kids showed dogs how to do back then. Of course, this was when kids and dogs seemed destined to go everywhere together. Ginger went to the beach in Clearwater, to the lakes in Lakeland, and everywhere my Mom went. He slept with her at night and she says she cried like a baby when he died her senior year in high school.
The other dogs in the household were cocker spaniels, which my grandmother loved, but Ginger was always Mom's dog.
Even as the wife of a career military man with 3 kids, my mother had a dog. The thought never entered her head to give up one or not to have one. The dog which stayed with us the longest was Blackie, who was a border collie mix. He traveled from Oklahoma to Florida, back to Georgia, then back to Florida when my father retired. Mom was the caretaker and when Blackie died after 17 years, my mother cried and cried.
There were two other dogs in the house at that time, Bigfoot and Ping. There were always dogs in my house.
After Daddy died, Mom let the pack whittle down to one dog, which she always kept until about 6 months ago. When her last little dog, Jordan crossed the Bridge, she made the decision she was not able to care for another dog full time. She is being cared for by Hospice now, but is still in her own home so my sister and I have made a pact to take our dogs over to visit as often as possible. Since my sister lives next door, that is not a problem for her, and Buzz rides with me when I go to Lakeland to visit.
So Mom gets to visit with Romeo, a rescued Peke, Wilbur, a rescued Shih Tzu, Hickory, a rescued Hound/Labrador and my Buzz.
So on this Mother's Day, which may be the final one I get to talk to my Mom, I thank her for many things. Most of all, I thank her for blessing me with a love of animals. I wish all kids could be so lucky as to have a Mom like mine.
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