We had cats and dogs but mostly cats. At first they followed Tom home, at least that's what he said. Another time he told me it was OK to let the one that I thought was a male inside with the others because he said it was a female. It wasn't and before long we had two pregnant females. I don't know if it was the cost or what but he wouldn't let me get any of them fixed.
One of the mothers only had one kitten and she almost didn't have that. She was running around the house with a kitten half out of her and screaming. I had no idea what to do even if I could have caught her. I was really surprised with what Tom did.
He not only caught her but he wrapped a wash cloth around the kitten and eased it out of her. She did get the sack off of him but then she just left him lay there. I figured the poor little thing was going to die.
Maybe it was because he'd spent a lot of time with his Grandfather on his farm because Tom did the most gross thing. I don't think I could have done it. If it was a human I could but an animal? I was just too squeamish.
He picked up that kitten, wiped its eyes and nose and mouth off and then he blew his breath into the kitten. I was skeptical it would work but it did and once it was breathing the mother accepted it.
I think but I don't know for sure that maybe Chuck didn't let them have pets when he was little.
So we had cats. We did have five dogs while we lived there but not all at once.
The first one Bill gave us. It was a tiny puppy. He'd wormed it the day before. I didn't know this but I doubt it would have made a difference if I had.
The puppy was delivered and we put it in the bathroom where the heat from the pipes would keep it warm in the night. In the morning the poor little thing was dead. I think and so did Bill that it had something to do with the worming medicine because his little belly was swollen.
Bill brought us another dog for Tommy. This one was a cute little beagle. We had it four or five days. We all loved it.
Tom built a big cage in the back yard so we could put it out there in the day time. It was huge, about five or six feet long and maybe 3 feet tall and wide. I took a roll of film of Tommy with his dog.
I put him in the cage when Tommy was in school and I went up stairs for a bath when no one was likely to walk in on me. I came down about twenty minutes later and no dog.
I'd had the bathroom window open and I would have heard if the dog had barked but he didn't. Bubbles, our next door neighbor saw me out there called me over to the fence. She said a man had gone in the yard and she didn't know who he was but the puppy didn't bark and she thought maybe it was someone who'd come to pick him up for something.
The dog was gone. We were all upset. I called the cops and one guy came. He looked it all over and said there wasn't much he could do. He checked the shelters but didn't expect to find anything which he didn't.
He told me, and I told Tom but Tommy was too young so I didn't tell him. He could have been all wrong about this. Bubbles didn't see a young man, she said he was in his thirties.
The cop said he had checked the cemetery. I asked him why. He said there was a group they were trying to catch who thought they were Satanists. They liked to use beagles especially in their rituals and they often found evidence of someone doing something hinky in the cemetery.
I was so upset about all this. I couldn't tell my kid this. About a week or so later there was a story in the paper. It was almost as grisly. Fishermen had found a circle board nailed to a tree in the swamp. Someone had nailed squirrels to it. Nobody knew why and no one was ever caught.
We all started watching our animals more closely.
Tom came home from work one day and told us that men had been seen chasing cats down the railroad tracks and catching them. I asked him why they would want to do that. He said the rumor at the factory was that they were selling their pelts. I was really hating this town by then.
Bubbles called me over one day. She said she had something for me and I could take my pick. She had two tiny dogs. One was all curly black and one was a short haired "blonde". I think they were mixed breeds. I told Tom and he went over and looked. I was already in love with the both of the dogs.
He brought them both back. He said he couldn't choose so he took both. One we called Gretchen. She was the blonde one. I'm not even sure she was a she. The black one we called Brother Bear because Tommy was Little Bear from the moment he was born. Brother Bear was soon altered to Beeze. We all loved them.
When we left they were alive and well. I was later told by someone that Beeze had got out and been hit by a truck. I didn't believe this because that dog never went out on his own. Someone else told me that they gave Gretchen away to a neighbor.
When I went out there for the hearing for a separation, I swear I saw two dogs at a house about a block away and they both looked like them.
The fifth dog was a big black dog who barked constantly. I couldn't keep him in the house. Tom fastened him with a chain in the back yard. He said the dog would make a good watchdog.
That night while he was at work there was a big storm. I started out dashing lightening bolts to try to bring the dog into the kitchen at least. I got to the tree and there was no dog, no collar and only part of the chain. He'd somehow gotten free and ran away somewhere.
There was one more dog but this one was never ours. I was in the front yard one day near dusk just checking my flowers when a car came speeding down the street. As it got near our house, somebody rolled down the window and tossed the dog out. They didn't even see me there but I grabbed quick and caught the little mite before he hit the pavement. It was a tiny Yorkie.
I knew we couldn't take another animal. We had too many as it was. Bubbles told me to go put a notice at the Golden Dawn that someone could have it if they gave it a good home. I had the dog with me as I pulled into the lot. Some lady fell in love with it right there on the spot. She said her sister always wanted one but couldn't afford it. I told her how I got it and she took it.