What animal would you love to have as a pet?
I’m pretty unoriginal
here, as I’d have to go with cats and dogs.
I’m currently living with my boyfriend’s two dogs and my cat, all of
which I consider to be “our animals.” It’s
been interesting, to say the least, merging our animals into the same
household. The current set up involved a
baby gate at the top of our stairs, so the cat has free range of the second
floor while the dogs can roam the main floor.
We have brought the dogs up a few times so they could all see one
another – the canines are totally fine, well behaved, calm mannered, and really
just interested in, “who the fuck is this furry thing living upstairs WHERE WE
USED TO BE ALLOWED?!” It’s the cat that
cops an attitude, hissing and growling when a dog gets too close to him. Thankfully no one has swiped at paw at anyone
else, which was my biggest fear.
For about 98% of my
life, I’ve always lived with animals.
When I was born my parents had a cat, a white shorthair with the smudge of grey on her forehead, which they had gotten
shortly after getting married seven years prior. She lasted until I was eleven years old,
passing away at the old age of eighteen.
The following Christmas my parents orchestrated the best Santa Clause
gift EVER, in that of our beloved golden retriever, Casey. They arranged for our neighbors to set up the
kennel by our decorated tree while our family was at my paternal grandfather’s
house celebrating Christmas Eve. When we
got home late that night my six-year old sister and I were greeting by a happy,
squirmy puppy. Thinking about it now, I
have no idea how my parents held it together – what a great thing to be able to
witness, two little girls meeting a puppy they didn’t know they were getting,
that was “brought by Santa.” Casey was
such a blessing to our family, and brought us endless joy and laughs throughout
the years. She was a rock of support to
my Dad after my parents divorced, as they both continued to live in the house
we had all shared together. When he met
the woman that is now his wife, Casey took to her immediately and was a
constant companion to them both in her final years. Thanks to my Dad’s compassionate care she
almost made it to thirteen years old – she died peacefully in our family home
and all five of us were able to be with her.
I still think about her all the time, she was an incredible animal and I’m
thankful I had her to grow up with.
After the divorce
brought about a change in everyone’s living arrangements, we had some cats join
the family. I inherited my high school
sweetheart’s cat, Frisky, who lived with us for only a few years before having
to be put down due to complications with diabetes. My sister adopted a black cat from the local
humane society that she named Adrian, after the TV show Monk – Adrian was
another incredible animal that everyone loved fiercely. One day I came up with a funny voice to make
him talk that mimicked the Stuart character from Mad TV; everyone loved it so
much I continued to do it up until his passing last December.
When I first moved out
on my own in 2008 I lived in an animal-less apartment with a roommate. After that arrangement disintegrated before
the lease was up, and I was left in a very, very deep valley of depression, I made
it a priority to get myself another animal.
I adopted a cat from the local humane society, a grey tiger striped shorthair that I named after one of my favorite poets. He was a total flop cat that just
wanted to sleep and snuggle on you at any given time. A few months after I adopted him I began dating
someone that was not only allergic to cats, but also very heavily asthmatic. We tried living together with the kitty for over
a year, but eventually this person told me that they just couldn’t continue to
do so any longer. As much as it pained
me to make the decision, I ultimately decided that it was more important for me
to work on my human relationship, instead of prioritizing my cat over it. I found my kitty a foster home that was
initially supposed to be temporary, but it ended up being permanent as the
years went by. The asthmatic and I
eventually broke up and moved out of our shared apartment, and by then enough
time had gone by that I didn’t have the heart to ask for my cat back, knowing
that the foster parent had to have developed a bond with my cat. So I opted to adopt another humane society
cat, the one that lives with me today, who we affectionately call Scotty Mo. He had been at the shelter for almost four
months, which is one of the reasons I picked him over every other cat. It didn’t take him long to warm up to me and
he has been a wonderful companion over the past year and a half. Hopefully one day he will be coexisting
peacefully with my boyfriend’s two dogs on all floors of the home we all share.
Why did I go into such
detail about the cats and dogs I’ve had?
Probably because I’ve learned that, for me, animals are not only
incredibly important in my life, they are VITAL. I know I’m not the only person that has had
their dark moments comforted by the wag of a tail or a gentle lick on the
face. Animals are such special
creatures, and the bonds we form with the ones we bring into our homes are
unlike anything we can experience in our human relationships. For me, the best part about coming home each
day are the kisses I get from my guy and our fur babies.
What band/musician is most important to you?
The band that is most
important to me is, hands down, the Beatles.
The musician that is most important to me is Ani Difranco.
So many people love
the Beatles and cite them as favorites, and rightfully so. My parents both loved the Beatles. The first songs I remember hearing were “Twist
and Shout” and “Help!” I really wish I
could think of more to say on this subject, because my love for this band runs
very deep and has been constant throughout my life, but truthfully I’m falling
short on my words. Perhaps it’s due to
having been binge writing off and on for the whole day. Or maybe it’s just writers block. Just believe me when I say that the Beatles
are important to me.
I was introduced to
Ani Difranco when I was fifteen – a friend of my mother’s gave me her “Not A
Pretty Girl” album for my birthday and I quickly became obsessed with it. Throughout my high school years I hoarded as
much of her music as I could, mostly on burned CD’s before mp3’s took over and
everything became digital. She continues
to write and record music and put it all out into the world through her
independent label, Righteous Babe Records.
I’ve seen her perform live a handful of times, and through my work I was
able to meet and shake her hand back in 2009, one of the best days of my
life. Her music has healed me in more
ways than I can say. I don’t have
favorites of her songs, I have relationships with them – certain ones will
always remind me of specific people, relationships, or moments in my life. I want “Swan Dive” played at my funeral. The human example she has set for me, for
everyone, has helped me grow and increase my emotional strength over my
lifetime. Putting on Ani Difranco’s
music is like putting salve on a wound, it comforts me and brings me back to a
feeling of being whole, being capable, and feeling so grateful for it all.
S.