Pets?

People ask me what kind of pets I have and I hesitate to answer that question. Because I really only choose one of the pets at my house. That pet is Duke our dog. Yes he is a golden retriever like the ‘Bush’s bake bean dog ‘. A man that my oldest son worked for gave Duke to him. Even through Duke is the one that I chose he was not really my dog to start out with. My oldest son also saved a cat that wondered up, which I have come to love.

So why with a cat and a dog that I really like would I hesitate to answer? Well, it happens that I have two other “pets” at my house that I don’t really claim. My youngest son says that they are his, and promises to take them when he moves out. They are two ball python’s. Yes, really… Snakes.

To say that I am fond of them well that might just be streatching the truth. I don’t hate them. I just can’t really say they are cute or that I even know which one is which when I look at them. I don’t really want them to die, and yet I would love it if they did pass fondly into that fair night. Let me clarify, I don’t want to be the person responsible for killing them, you know starving them to death, them not having water, or even freezing. However, were they to pass of natural causes. That would not hurt my feelings. I would not grieve.

I have overcome my fear of snakes by having them around. I have touched them, I have even held them, and it’s just not something that I can say I have any longing to do, EVER. The way I ended up with these unusual pets. Well, My daughter who was a senior in high school at the time was working and had her own money. She liked to be different not dress or hair wise but in personality. She also has a really big heart. When she found out her Daddy(Her step dad and my ex.), really needed a few extra dollars and he wanted to sell two of his smaller snakes she immediately wanted them. She begged me and promised that she would take care of them and she was persistent. She also told me she knew that Dad would not just ‘take the money’.

I caved… What a sucker, I was. Well, not completely. She took care of them for about a year before she went into the military. She decided while she was in boot camp that they would make an excellent gift for her younger brother. And…She gave them to him without really asking me. He was thrilled for all of five minutes. He had really wanted a lizard. He has them in his room. He does take them out to put them in the feeder box, and then put them back. He keeps the aquarium clean waters them, when I don’t, and that is it. No one really does anything with the snakes.

Therefore, we have one dog, one cat and two snakes. The dog protects the yard and house threatens any animal that finds their way into the yard. He would beat any intruder to death with his tail. He plays ball and looks loves us. The cat, Patches is our super hunter. She catches birds, mice, squirrels’ and the occasional bug. She also makes a nice lap warmer. Then there are the snakes, Ozzy and Eddie, in the cage under the log asleep or slithering around in the bark in the bottom of their glass domain.