See You on the Lake
Pets fill a big portion in lives of many
Woody Cooper

Almost everyone that I have known in my lifetime has had a pet of some sort sometime during their lifetime. Many of us have had and still may have many pets and some may seem strange. I see in the paper and on the tube of some pets that are a bit on the goofy side. I am not sure that I could live with a snake or alligator or even a pretty tiger in my house. However, the pets that I have known during my lifetime have all been worthwhile and heartwarming to me. I love pets and have had a ton of them down through the years. One thing for sure as long as a person has a pet buddy he will never be lonely. They fill a void with a wealth of love and understanding. I think some of my pets talked to me. I was about four years old when I met my first pet. My Father and older brother was sitting on the front porch on our farm in Arkansas when we saw a mule walking to us up the lane. He walked right up to the porch and stood there as if to say "well are you going to invite me in or just sit there. Now a loose animal is not unusual in a farming community and when one turns up, it is taken care of by the finder until the rightful owner can be located. The mule was fed and put in the lot with the farm animals. My Father made a mistake by lifting me onto the donkey's back and letting me ride him to the barnyyard. Right then is when I was a rider of a beautiful steed who became my first pet. I do not know how long the donkey stayed but I do know that I spent a great deal of time with him. An apple from the tree out back was a daily tidbit slipped to him. I do know how and why he left. I had learned to lead him to the fence and I would crawl up on the fence and onto his back and we would walk the lane. One of my older brothers or my Father was always nearby and watchful. One day as we walked the lane I thought it would be a good idea to cross the ditch and pulled right and we were in and out of the ditch in a hurry. At least part of us were out of it. As the donkey went up the bank I slid off his back and he stepped on my head which partially buried in the soft mud. That was my last ride. Even though we never found the owner a farmer not far away said that he wanted him. My next "pet" was unusual. Every farmer was a fisherman and hunter back in those days and ducks and geese were most sought after. Our lane must have been about a quarter mile long and I was allowed to spend a great deal of time in it. One day I saw the head of a goose stick up from the ditch and tried to grab it by the head. Me and that goose had the biggest bout since Jack Dempsey was champ. We must have made a lot of noise because it brought family members on the run to separate us. That old goose chewed me up pretty good but we became friends after a few days. I was the only one that he liked and he would bite Mama every time she plucked feathers for our feather beds. She kept four or five geese for feathers for our beds. I was never real sure what happened to my goosy buddy but I did not fully believe that he was turned back into the wild.

I did not think that his wing that had been shot was strong enough to fly yet but I do know that one day he was gone. My next pet was a bulldog given to me by an uncle. I was six then and had been moved to Oklahoma by kinfolks and met an Aunt that I had been parceled off to. She told me that feeding the dog was my problem because there would not be food for her from the household. I made every butcher shop and grocery stores every day for scraps of food and she ate better than I did. Even though people shuddered at her ugly face she was the most beautiful animal I had ever seen. She walked me to school and was always waiting for me at the end of the school day. She walked every step of my daily trips and we had a love affair as long as she lived. My Grandmother had moved to the country and I stayed with her one summer. An old goat wandered up to our place and sat down beside me where I was reading a book leaning against a tree. The first thing that I knew was that he almost took my head off by slamming his head against mine to let me know that he wanted attention. We became great partners and he followed me every where that I went. He always let me know when he wanted attention by the head slam. The last time that he hit me he knocked me out of my skull and when I awoke I was in bed. My uncle said that he ran off and I never saw him again. He was a good old goat. A little screwed up but good. We had a tornado in our little town and the next day I was looking in the rubble when I saw a little half grown chicken with a banged up leg. I picked it up and carried her home and put a splint on her leg. She grew up into a fat hen but always had a decided limp. She loved to sit on me while I read a book and she followed me wherever I moved. She went missing one Sunday evening after the preacher left after Sunday dinner for him. I hunted the neighborhood over time and again and for some reason looked into the trash barrel in the alley. I was shocked to see a mess of feathers and a head. I never was crazy about preacher and was slow to love my aunt again. I have raised a squirrel from a babe and a rabbit had a Duck named Woodstock that was a blast. At this time we have two dogs, Buddy and Dash Weiner dogs and three cats, all five are lovable nuts. Dash chases both cats and one cat chases Dash all over the yard.

I have had a full exciting and happy life and a lot of it has been because I have had such wonderful pets to share my time with me. About the only thing that they ask of me is to share my love with them- I do that.

Buckle Up, Drive with Care, Put on a Life Jacket and I'll See You on the Lake.