Friday 3 February 2023

Pets

 A short post today as I have had quite a few visitors.   I have just put on my computer to order my medication so thought I would pop by to say hello before I settle down for the evening and get snug.

My carer has just gone so I am in my dressing gown and slippers and all ready for bed although it is only   7pm.   But we were having a chat and she told me that her son and his partner, who live in a flat in her house, had just today lost their pet and were very upset.   When I asked what their pet was (expecting the answer to be either cat or dog) I was astonished to be told that it was a Lizard called Gerald!  Apparently they had buried it in the garden and put flowers on its grave.

When I expressed astonishment she told me that she had once cared for a lady who had a pet Iguana.  It seems that again I am old fashioned.   I can't imagine having loving feelings for a reptile.  I have loved all my dogs and cats over the years and been very upset at the passing.   

When we had Foot and Mouth disease and our whole herd of cows had to be destroyed (and then burnt in our paddock) I think both the farmer and I cried (the vet who lived with us for a fortnight made us go to the burning (it took the team a whole day to build the burning site with layers of wood, coal and various things before laying the cows and sheep on top (in a very  sympathetic way I must say).   The vet and the burning team stood round as the fire was lit and we all stood quietly (fortified by a glass of whisky each - which the vet provided,  ) Our favourite cow was number 55 (all cows are numbered and registered by the Cattle Movement Service in the UK) a very maternal cow who in Summer when cows calved - often overnight in the field - would try her level best to steal the calf and tempt the calf away.   If we saw the cow had calved when we fetched them in for milking and if she was distressed and calling for her calf we would quickly search the field to find 55 and there would be the calf.   She wouldn't make a fuss when the farmer picked up the calf and carried it back to its Mum.  We made sure at the burning that we did not stand by 55.

But a Lizard called Gerald?   Not sure how I feel about that.   Have any of you got strange pets?   I rather  think I remember John (Going Gently) having a pet hen.  (and of course plenty of parrots and cockatoos around.


19 comments:

Barbara Anne said...

Dogs and cats for us, too, Pat, and we mourned each and every one when they departed. The cost of pet food, licenses, and vet care keeps us from having a dog now. If we could only have Daisy, our beloved Basset Hound back again ... sigh!

I'm with you about not seeing any love in the eyes or behavior of a reptile, but maybe that's just me.

Hugs!

Anonymous said...

Well it is a dog and two cats now. In my youth I had a hamster from pet shop. Store didn’t know “Mortimer” was pregnant, nor did I, until eight little hamster babies were born two weeks after purchase. A small tree frog named Elizabeth Rosamund Taylor etc. two or three geckos, three hens. Oh and two tree crabs Fred and Ethel-would never adopt that species again.

Susan said...

I think reptiles and reptiles/snakes are sought for pets by a select group of people. Personally, I can't imagine having a large snake in my house. Your story about the cows is very sad. Seeing them burn in a large fire had to be extremely sad and stressful.

Anonymous said...

My strangest pet was a one-clawed yabbie I found hobbling across the burning hot pavement on a suburban street one summer. It was decades ago now. He only lived for a little while, but I felt I did him a favour. I realize, by watching Leon the Lobster on You Tube , that I should have showered him with the attention that Brady Branwood has bestowed upon a very happy rescued Leon over the years. Leon's accommodation and food supply is now luxurious!
These creatures should of course be in their natural environment, but when found in awful situations we do what we can.
It has always distressed me, cows separated from calves by the way.- Pam.

Heather said...

I must say that I prefer furry pets, mainly cats or dogs as I have never had enough room for anything larger, and I don't think I could build a relationship with a reptile.
I well remember being horrified when foot and mouth was rife, and felt so sad for those farmers who lost whole herds.
Perhaps we, who get so attached to our pets, should be wise and go for a creature who lives for a long time, but you can't really cuddle a turtle can you?

Terra said...

How sad for you to experience the burning of your cows and sheep, especially dear Mrs. 55 who wanted calves. I have a dog and a cat, at my age that seems the right number for me. I adopted my pup when I was deep in grief 10 days after my husband died and the pup is such a dear companion.

Marjorie said...

We revery fond of our cows and the farmer let one old girl die of old age on the farm. Some of them have such personality. One year we had a pair of twins and they were always the last ones when we moved that herd. The farmer has noticed bonds in the calves where they hang out with the same ones every day. He is quite taken with my orphan Daisy who comes up to greet him when he goes in their pen. We don't want our cows to be tame as they would be dangerous but we want them to be content and settled when we are in the pen with them. We had a heifer do that this year as your 55 did and she was so mixed up she abandoned her own calf. So I have a calf in the barn named Bunny, named after the tame wild bunny who keeps the farmer company when he is working on equipment near the sheds. I was debating a name when I got her and met the bunny right outside the calf barn.

The Furry Gnome said...

We drove through the Yorkshire Dales the year that horrible disease was rampant.

Granny Sue said...

Dogs and cats here, but I admit my preference is dogs. One friend recently said that we don't deserve dogs, and maybe she's right. Do we really deserve their devotion?

Joanne Noragon said...

My nephew kept a pet iguana. My sister grew fond of it and took over its care when the boy left home.

Debby said...

I am not a fan of reptiles, but I know people who have had them and swear that they run to them and beg to be cuddled like a cat. A fellow on a game show tonight talked about his pet tortoise, who he has had since he was in third grade. He told the Jeopardy host that he and his pet tortoise watch Jeopardy together every night.

Love's love, isn't it?

Cro Magnon said...

Dogs and cats for me! I did have a Tortoise once that went missing, then after my father had lit his garden bonfire, guess what we found amongst the ashes?

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

Lord Byron, when he was a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, kept a pet bear in his room; this was in protest against a college rule which did not allow dogs. Apparently there was no regulation against the keeping of bears.

Sue in Suffolk said...

I don't understand pet reptiles, rats or spiders - makes me shudder. But I loved my goats and cried when one died - they are like sheep in having a death wish!
No more pets for me now.

The burning of cattle was horrifying and devastating for farmers.

Librarian said...

Your cow story is very sad. I remember that time; my sister-in-law‘s husband and his two brothers run a dairy farm up in the Bishop Monkton area in Yorkshire. It was a hard time for farmers.
As for reptiles and other exotic pets, I just can‘t see that people can provide for those animals the environment they need. Even cats and dogs are not meant to be cooped up inside tiny flats all the time; I don‘t understand people who get a dog when they work all day and the dog has no chance to get out in the open, but all it gets is a 10 minute „walk“ morning and evening.
My family always had cats, and one day I might have one or two again, but not while I am working full time and spend most of my weekends away at O.K.‘s.

Derek Faulkner said...

I thoroughly agree with the Librarian.

Don't understand why the vet thought it was a good idea for you to go and watch all your cattle being burned, can't understand the logic in that.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Derek - it was not the vet's decision but that of the authorities who discussed it and decided it the best way of helping farmers to come to terms with it all. We thoroughly agreed with it after a few days when we were able to chat freely with thevet who lived with us for a fortnight.
Librarian - agreed totally - so many dogs are shut in all day while their owners are at work
John - Trust Lord Byron I say.
Cro - Doesn't bear thinking about (might have been a better answer to John above!
Thanks to you all could have answred you all but friends have just called but as always some fascinating comments.

Tom Stephenson said...

I feel the same as you regarding reptiles, particularly iguanas. Chickens are borderline.

Nance said...

Another interesting topic and comments.