Writing in Snow

Pet Memories – Part 1: Patsy

Word count: 546

Where do I begin? I have had many pets in my life. Do I begin with my earliest memory? Do I begin by listing the animals by name and species? Do I list them in alphabetical order? Do I just begin writing?

My earliest pet memory is of Patsy a purebred cocker spaniel. Patsy was not a large dog nor was she a small dog. She was medium sized, I know that is not a good description of her size, but that is how I remember her. I remember her as being a strawberry blonde cocker spaniel, with neither too much red nor too much blonde in her coat. I also remember her as having long silky hair.

Patsy was the first pet I ever had and actually, she was not only my dog, she belonged to the entire family. I had to share her with a sister and two brothers. Patsy did not mind us sharing her; in fact, I think she liked the arrangement. She belonged to our family, which consisted of six people my parents, my siblings, and me.

Patsy had six people catering to her needs. She never wanted for affection because there was always someone willing to brush her fur, stroke her head, or scratch her ears. She was a pampered pet, all though not the way people think of pampered pets today.

Patsy did not have a fancy diamond color. Patsy did not have doggie shoes to put on when it rained outside. She did not have doggie cloths to wear when she went for walks. Patsy did not sleep in the house at night; she had her own spot on the back porch and a warm doghouse in the backyard.

As a child, I did not know anyone who kept his or her dog in the house at night. Most, if not all, of the kids I know kept their dogs in the backyards. Sometimes the dogs would come into the house during the day, I know Patsy came inside and played with us in the house, but she slept outside at night.

Since we did not have a fenced in yard, Patsy had a chain-leash, which attached to her collar and to her doghouse or to the back porch. In the 1950s, it was not a common practice to spay or neuter your pets. Patsy had two litters. The first litter, which was about six puppies, were mixed breeds. For the second litter, my parents had Patsy mated with another purebred cocker spaniel. The result of the mating was one male puppy.

Skyzix (I do not think that is how his name was spelled, but it is as close as I can come) had a pure black coat. I think he looked more like his father then his mother. My grandparents took Skyzix after Patsy weaned him.

Patsy was a good mother; she always took good care of all her puppies. She also took good care of my siblings and me. When we were in the yard, she never let us out of her sight. If a stranger came around, she was always right there to make sure we were safe. Patsy was protective and lovable. We could not pet her without getting our faces and hands licked.