Thursday, March 12, 2009

Roll Call of the Loved Animals



Rusty Boy Beauty, Caesar, Shashlik, Rein, Jackson, Susy, Dilly, Kishka, Suky, Minnie and Tashy, Winston, Fluffy, Worky and Churchy, Friedman Pasha, Patsy Cline, Dr. Frizzle, Babe, Buddy, Bugsy, Tom, Vivi, Lily, Nosy, Pippin...

Birds, fish, hamsters, mice, dogs, cats, some with us for months, others more than a decade; the biters, the bullies, the arrogant, the cuddly, the submissive; the ones who floated through life, seemingly oblivious, and the ones who loved back, fiercely; the inscrutable, and the ones who wore their hearts on their sleeves; the ones who flew and the ones who scuttled; the ones who ran in fields and swam in lakes, the ones who slept the day away; the ones who begged for food, and the ones who behaved; the ones we fostered and the ones whose tiny lives we struggled valiantly to save; and the ones who died in our arms...

and the wild creatures, called simply Frog, Toad, and Worm, Caterpillar and Newt, Squirrel, Spider, Sparrow, and Fox, nursed to health or placed out of harm's way...

In the names, remembered or now-forgotten, whimsical or well-considered, literary, historical, or childish, the story of a family who loves animals.

35 comments:

The Clever Pup said...

Let's see.

Muffin, Henrietta, Princess Cleo, Tiny Tim, Tigger, Smokey, Pickle, Sheba, Nim, Pandora, Ming, Ruby, Jersey.

Budgie, Guinea Pig, Cat, Cat, Cat, Cat, Cat, Dog, Cat, Cat, Goldfish, Cat, Dog.

Tess Kincaid said...

Birdie, Bowser, Muffin, Shadow, Thomas, Thomasina, Pig, Rosie, Abagail, Beaumont, Bird, Ralph.

Brian Miller said...

nice tribute to those that touched your life...

Miko. Gizmo. Spuds. Hobo. Cleo. random animals along the way.

New Yorker wannabes said...

A tribute to my beloved animals...

Flox (senior-Dog), Toto (cat), Hera (cat), Mulder and Scully (Fish-I was an X-file fan back then :-)

Liked your post :-)
happy theme Thursday
xoxo

Colette Amelia said...

great post to just get us thinking how much they are a part of our lives.

What we be without them?

Knitting it Out in an Urban Zoo said...

I love it!

Dr. Jekyll, Clyde, Antonia, Gulliver, Poki, Tux, Arthur, Kitty, Doggy, Lucy, Gracie, Georgie, Idgie, Miss Ruthie...

Anonymous said...

Shashlik ... yeah ... with garlic, onions and raw pepper, I'm a two-hamster-man! :)

Candie said...

This was very nice to read.Great post along with great pictures.

Also great sondage about the dissert,what a great idea.Won't say what I voted for!lol

Anonymous said...

Oh geez! Misty and Snowball( horses ); Socks, Lady Pumpkin, Smokey, Scooter, Chipper, Hunter( dogs ); Tulouse, Lady, Harry, Jasmine ( cats )and a never ending assortment of bunnies, spiders, snakes, toads, catepillars, lady bugs, etc., etc...see what you've started, Leah? Grand post, here. Some really cool names you have, as well.

Ed & Jeanne said...

I sense a theme in many of this week's animal topics: that of loved pets remembered...

Ronda Laveen said...

Beautiful tribute to the critters who blessed your life as you blessed theirs. Sniff.

Megan said...

Dog (yes, Dog), Muffin, Bandit, Mischief, Buster, Sinjin, Suspicious and an honorable mention to my cousin Sara's rabbit, Megan!

dw said...

Sweet post. Thank you.

Kris McCracken said...

Scruffy, Tambo, Sam, Speedy Gonzalez, Errol, Floss, Fluffo...

We will remember them.

Cece said...

Wow, that is quite a list. I don't think mine is as long but I will try.
Pretty Boy, Whitiey, B.J,Patches, JD, Spider, Roker, Tangerine, Tabitha, Snicklefritz,Reddy, Bluey, Scoobie Doobie Do, Hermie, Antihistamine (she was a fuzzy cat that made me sneeze all the time.) Oppossum, Xena, Blackie, Amos, Daisey,Gretchen,Midnight,Miss Kitty, Appollo, and last but not least, Javie Dog aka Java. I think that is all of them. At least that is all I can remember.

Jaime said...

harry, lady, tramp, lizzie, rosie.

dog, fish, fish, dog, dog.

i miss them - even the fish i had when i was 2

Patrice said...

As a fellow namer of loved animals, I commend your excellent command of the written word.

Mr. Peepers, Mickey, Fritz, Ching, Roman, Buddy, Fanny, Putzki, Johnson and Evinrude, Winkle, Chloe, Rothko, Dinah, Puddin, Snoochie, Bogo, Glynnis, Clair, Freda, Beadie, Pooh-Doh, Chippie-Sue, Sally, Baxter, Girl, Dixie, Baby-Girl, Rita, Jessie, Lillie, Lucy, Lucille, Tuesday, Boris, Molly, The Goose, Quacker and Quakle, Macaroni,
Fred, and of course Spanky... and many, many more...

Karen ^..^ said...

Tuffy, Sebastian, Snippet, Gretyl, Lucky, Kibbles, Max, Rags, Jinx, Velvet, Sassy, Little one, Buddy, Chips, Fatty, Brother, Kittenface, Kimba, Scaredy cat,Putnams, Boo, Lovebat, Just Kitty, Leo, Robert.

From the time I was little, till now. And a WHOLE lot of ferals and strays in there too, because I believe every living thing should have a name, no living thing should die without a name. I just can't recall all of the names... Plus it would take forever.

Karen ^..^ said...

Oh, crap. I forgot the rodents...

Hmmm...

Professor Pid, Baby Pid, McCheerio, Goofy girl.

And the fish?

Yikes.

Roxy, Roxy again, And several (maybe ten or so) others. They were named, but I don't remember their names.

Karen ^..^ said...

Oh, and several (eighty or so) Finches, at one time. Those suckers have absolutely NO sphincter control whatsoever. Old Knudsen would have loved them.

Dakota Bear said...

Many cats have passed my way as the ones I had as a child, than the ones we had as my children were growing up. I would like to pay tribute to the two grandcats we lost this past year. Beautiful and affectionate Cue she was all white with one blue eye and one yellow eye. And regal Russian blue Khalis who preferred not to be petted.

Cheryl Cato said...

Oh yes... Dogs: Friskey, Waggy, Beau, Jaime, Grits, Guy, Gisele, Gatsby, Georgie Girl, Gertie Girl, Annie, and Buckaroo. Cats: Blacky, Whitey, Sporty, Nick, Dot, Teeta, Miss Kitty. All loved, all remembered...

Cheryl Cato said...

Whoops... Horses: Ginny Blue, Jeremiah, Gus, Gantry.

Mrsupole said...

All the names are wonderful, so many animals loved by all, so many of us loved by them.

I think that was such a great tribute to them, they do live on in our hearts and souls. I do have to say the one we should not of named was our cow. We thought Daisy was our pet, our parents thought otherwise. We would not eat beef for months, but they said we eventually did eat her. My mom only told me this last year. It was over 40 years ago and for some reason it still hurts.

Yes, so much love for our pets. It is why we try so hard to protect even the wild ones. Was watching about the gray whales dying and it broke my heart to think they might go extinct. Wild animals belong to the world and we need to protect them all. So I am going to pray for the gray whales and others who are endangered and pray that something is done to save them.

God bless.

Cuppa Jo said...

Morgan, Chablis, Buttons, BJ, Mac and Tosh, Elsa, Luna, Kacie, Herculisa, Bruiser, Tasha.

Lovely.

The Girl from Lokhandwala said...

Its a beautiful tribute to your animal friends.

Leah said...

You guys, I'm so incredibly moved that you've posted your own roll calls here. I'm glad we could share the names. Thank you for making this special!

Skeeter said...

Hi Leah,

Charley, Barney, Mims, and even one my Grandmother named "Typers of the Real Lives". I have no idea why. None whatsoever.

Best wishes,

Skeeter

Suzanne said...

You know me, I'm in tears. Every word, every comment, every name. You know me. I was thinking about you and the wee one yesterday and wondered why you hadn't expressed your pain. I thought you were simply more in control of your emotions. You know me, I'm not. And now I know you're not. It just hurts. It never seems to go away and you always remember. Always. Every beautiful name here matters.

I love you for this post because you know how hard I struggle with death. It's been two months since we buried Newman and it feels like yesterday he was in my arms. Thanks for reminding me that it's okay to feel lost. And it's good to remember.

I love you Leah. But you know that.

XO

Anonymous said...

Amazing that you can remember all their names- i can't remember the names of all the goldfish we had!

Re The Sock Competition:

Are we allowed to be subversive and canvass support for our favourite??

Anonymous said...

Vote for no.7 everyone cos Kylie WANTS THOSE SOCKS!!!!!!!!!!

Barlinnie said...

Yet another diamond post from my favourite sparkly character.

Bleu Mariane said...

Café (coffee) Piou-Piou (like the sound they make), Simplet (Dopey, I think), Bouchon (cap (hope it's the right word, because cap in french is t-o-t-a-l-l-y different meaning!)), Bud and weiser (do I need to translate that !!), Charlie, Doualé, Griffon, and Capsule.

Dog, chick, hamster, dog, cat and cat, guinea pig, guinea pig, dog and dog.

And sorry for all thoses I can't remember right now and for many many fish that don't figure here because I did not give them names !

Thank you for the chance of leaving such a interesting comments !
Pets and their names say a lot about people.

:o)

Romeo Morningwood said...

Anonymous Garter Snakes that all bit me!, Toads, Frogs, Fish, Newts, Turtles (all named Shelly) and several dive-bombing Budgies all named Buddy regardless of gender.

And the messengers of unconditional Love;
Streaky(Tabby)
Rocket(Doberman)
Fritz(Dachshund)
Dibbs(Cocker)
Jack(LabX)

Unconditional Love..
Humans should try it sometime.

tony said...

Thanks.I never thought of things in this way.Our History with animals.A Roll Call Of Love.