Family Pets - question for all Pet Talk people

[kitten645]

My parents are from Argentina and I've heard stories. My mom had a cat named Mono (Bow/Ribbon) cause she put a bow on it's tail. I guess her brothers (all older out of eight kids) would tie fire crackers to it's tail and my mom was so traumatized by it. By the same token, she used to yell at me when we were arriving at some international hotel on holiday and I'd be squeeling about the cat on the tarmac! LOL!
My dad was pretty typical for his day I guess. Professed no like of animals but I'd see him talking and petting our various cats growing up. He did tell of stories of turkeys, chickens and Llamas growing up. He always told the funny story of the Llama sticking his head thru an open window and swallowing a bunch of parts off my grandma's sewing machine
Family on my mom's side are also horse people and I loved visiting and being "given" my own horse. I only rode him one summer I was there but I loved that horse. *sigh*

[kittycats_delight]

From as far back as I remember there have always been pets in the family. My grandmother loved her cats (both my father's mom & my mother's mom). My grandfather breed and raised horses and my uncle did the same. My great grandmother (father's side) also loved her kitties. She always had a persian or 2. My father was the only one of the lot who was not an animal person. He liked his hounds for hunting but that was it. He was a mean little monster when he was young with the cats until my grandmother caught him. When she did she was mortified and broke a broom across his back as he started to run off and she couldn't get her hands on him. I think he is lucky it was the broom and not her hands.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

My Grandad was a great one for taking in stray dogs - Mum has clear memories of all sorts coming home on the end of a bit of string

[joycenalex]

my mom grew up during the depression in detroit ,she didn't have any pets, times were too hard for her family. while my mother did adjust to the idea of her "granddogs"-alex first them lady (brothers' beagle) she didn't know how to pet or cuddle them. 5 years ago, my sister, who lives with her got a very small mixed breed- stuart- and mom finally fell under the spell of dogs. she now carries dog cookies in her pockets to share with the dogs in her senior apartment complex.

[Ginger's Mom]

Interesting thread. Joyce's post about her mother reminds me very much of my grandmother. Although my Mother did have a dog when she was a teenager (an Eskie as a matter of fact), it was she and her father that took care of the dog. Grandmom never really knew what to do with the dog, but when she got older and moved in with my parents she started carrying dog biscuits around in her pocket. My father never had a pet growing up, and even when we were children his rule was no four legged pets. Actually, when I was young we had a rabbit, then we had a dog for about a year and a half (all when I was under 10 years of age). But after we got rid of that dog (my father was worried our nasty neighbor, a police officer, would hurt the dog), my father said no more four legged pets, so we had birds and fish. It's funny, because they were in their 60's my parents adopted a beagle from the shelter, and spoiled her like a baby.

[Medusa]

I wish I could say 'yes' but my parents didn't have pets. My father spoke of a dog that he knew of when he was a boy who used to chew gum and spit it out in a corner of the room and go back for it later but it wasn't my father's dog, I don't think. I'm not sure how I grew to be such an animal lover. I was always dragging some cat or dog and said that it followed me home. I think it might have something to do w/lack of money when they were growing up, although I'm not sure about that.

[Killearn Kitties]

All my Dad's family were animal lovers. They always had dogs and cats at home while he was growing up. There are photos of several of the animals in amongst the old family photos.

My Mum's family had a few cats over the years, although my Mum herself was not a big animal person when younger. She is more fond of them now. Mum never really wanted me to have animals when I was young, because I'd be upset when they died - big believer in prevention rather than cure my mother.