Willow Oak

[Willow Oak]

You single??

Uh, do you know any female that wouldn't mind sleeping with 10 dogs (9 + me)?

[chocolatepuppy]

I have a friend in PA who is single and would love sleeping with a hundred dogs! I'm gonna tell her about you. She has two dogs, two cats and a horse.
you'd have to ask her whether she'd sleep with you.

[Willow Oak]

I have a friend in PA who is single and would love sleeping with a hundred dogs! I'm gonna tell her about you. She has two dogs, two cats and a horse.
you'd have to ask her whether she'd sleep with you.

Tell her I'm neutered!

[slick]

Uh, do you know any female that wouldn't mind sleeping with 10 dogs (9 + me)?

**raises hand*** Oh, pick me, pick me! I hate my job and am willing to relocate......
I'm way behind on reading your stories. Will catch up when I get home from work. I have plenty of tissues beside my computer....

[Willow Oak]

**raises hand*** Oh, pick me, pick me! I hate my job and am willing to relocate......
I'm way behind on reading your stories. Will catch up when I get home from work. I have plenty of tissues beside my computer....

Uh, I have nothing against anyone else who would, but I don't sleep with anyone named "Larry." Be that as it may, save me some tissue. I've read a tear-jerker or two today from another thread.

[gini]

Uh, I have nothing against anyone else who would, but I don't sleep with anyone named "Larry."

Sorry to barge in here - but "Larry" was found for me - so no worries on this count!

Also, couldn't we call this Pet Talk book - THE BOOK OF TAILS?

[Catty1]

Well, it would be worth sleeping with 9 dogs as long as I was closest to the pack leader!

Slick and I are from a rather chilly country, can you tell?

But my pillow-buddy-heart-cat Oscar....what to do, what to do????

[Willow Oak]

I recently discovered a treasure trove of wonderful "tails" that need to be retold. John is no longer with us, but his wife Randi was kind enough to point me the way to a few of his posts.

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=29901

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=29962

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=29333

For those of you who have already read them, they are certainly worth re-reading. I'm still laughing at one of the "tails" I read in that second post. Here is an excerpt:

"Poor old Batman was often getting into scrapes, always through absolutely no fault of his own. We still occasionally had problems with one of the wild cats in the beginning, he would wait until Batman wasn’t around, hop up into our window and mark out his territory This REALLY annoyed me. So one day I decided to teach the intruder a proper lesson. I thought that I had seen him out in the yard (he was also big and black), and when I saw a black shape hopping into our window, he got a whole bucketful of water right in the face. Unfortunately I wasn’t aware that Batman was out too, so it was he who received my little present. Poor fellow, he just COULDN’T understand what had happened and wandered around for a quite while in a daze. On another occasion we had a visit by a girl with a little baby. He was lying on the bed getting his nappy changed when Batman decided to check him out. At that very moment the baby let out a huge stream of diarrhoea which hit Batman right on the head. He stayed well away from babies from then on!

Another time I was woken early in the morning by one of our neighbors. “Your cat's out here on the stairs” she says. “Thank you very much” I say, and sleepily let the big black cat in. He wanders straight into the kitchen and begins to eat. I return to the bedroom, and who wanders out but Batman! I luckily managed to get the intruder out before Batman saw him, otherwise I’m sure the fur would have been flying! Some cats do have a lot of nerve."

[gini]

Oh Willow Oak, I am so happy that Randi has directed you to some of John's threads.

Pet Talk is such a very special place - and the boards have been graced by some of the funniest, kindest, and most intelligent people. John was right up there at the TOP!!

All of us loved him and we still grieve his loss along with Randi.

Perhaps she will direct you to his grave - as it is a magical place, tended lovingly by Randi - if you see it, you will understand.

[Willow Oak]

Our family always had a pet around, dog or cat, since before I was born. Personally I didn't possess a pet between the time I graduated from high school and just a few years ago, when I began collecting this motley crew that now lives with me. And what of me? I was the third of three children. My older siblings were sisters. Susie was the middle child, and Susie was stricken with Down's Syndrome. Even for that, Susie lived until the very healthy age of 54. For all the dire prognostications by doctors when Susie was born in 1951, it was pneumonia that got her in the end on July 2, 2006.

For a mentally handicapped individual Susie was blessed with at least one very unique gift. Even though she was not easily understood when she spoke, a person had no difficulty understanding her when she sang. Susie could flat sing. Our father was a minister, and we grew up in church, listening to and singing all the old-time gospel hymns. You grow up like that and you learn to recite all these songs by heart. Susie was no exception to that, but she managed to take it beyond.

Susie's "discovery" came in the summer of 1971 at a summer camp. She was "allowed" to enter the talent contest. Susie simply blew away the field. From then on until she got too old to perform Susie was a celebrity. I saw Susie sing in front of thousands. Susie has sung in front of crowds as large as 8,000 or more. Susie's heyday would not last for very long. During the final 15 years or so of her life Susie's health prohibited her from performing or even attend church much, for that matter.

All of her life Susie lived with our mother, and they always had pets. Susie had her own special pet, a black cocker spaniel she named Marwen. For most of her adult life Susie's two closest friends were named Marlene and Wendell, so it was only natural that she name her dog after them. Marwen hung around for about 20 years or so. Actually, Marwen was three dogs. When Marwen, the first, passed, Susie got another black cocker and named him Marwen. The last of this line was, naturally, Marwen III. Susie loved her Marwens -- all three of them, and they loved her. About three years ago, Marwen III passed on, and I buried him in Mother's front yard in front of Susie's bedroom window. Two years ago Susie finally passed away after a short illness. There will be no Marwen IV.

This past weekend after running a few errands in town I drove over to the cemetary and visited with Susie at her grave. Before I left I knelt beside her tombstone and whispered, "See you in heaven." Mother's place is near mine, and on my way home I stopped. I walked out to where I had buried Marwen, her burial spot still easy to find because of the large rocks I placed there. Before I left I knelt down beside Marwen's tomb stones and whispered, "See you in heaven."