This week’s Friday Five was asked with a brevity I’ve only seldom been able to muster myself. Dan asks:
What are the five happiest moments you’ve had with pets?
Given that my life has been relatively low in terms of concentration of pets, I’m going to have a few repeat appearances by the same dogs. You’ll have to forgive me.
- The day we found Toto. Our dog Toto (yes, shut up) ran away in terror one rainstormy night and it took three days before she turned up again. A neighbour found her with torn up pads on her paws, whining in the back field behind their house, a day or two after the storm. We were all certain we’d never find her, and were all sad, and when she turned up again, we were so happy to see her.
- I don’t know if this is a single memory or just general happiness thing, but when Toto came up onto the couch and hung out with me—leaned affectionately, wagged her tail, begged for attention and let me know she needed my affection—it was always a very warm, happy feeling that I felt.
- I remember in grade school, collecting tent-worms. You know, those little ugly green caterpillars that plagues the trees overhead every few years? I collected dozens of them in my geometry case at school, and at one point I had more of them than anyone else. I’m not sure they were pets: when my dad found them, he flushed them down the toilets and lectured me on how silly it is to bring pests into one’s home—and I didn’t like them in any way that I have liked our family dogs, but I did feel a moment of triumph some regard connected to having those animals, so, well, it’s going to have to count. Work with me here, I have very few answers to offer.
- When Bailey didn’t die, I was very relieved… to the point where I think one could call it happiness.
- The moment I last got out of Kimberley’s car when we drove to Seoul with her dogs. Oh my God, that was a relief. It was during that trip—was it a five-hour drive?—that I became certain of my suspected allergy to her dogs. We have both of them in the car with us, one (of necessity) on my lap all the way. I was so happy to be out in dog-hair-free air again.
If you had asked me about my Pet Peeves, I might have more to say, but I’m glad to have had a chance to write something nice about pets, instead.